India spurned the chance to finish top of Group A in the SAFF Championship 2023 after a late own goal led to a 1-1 draw in an ill-tempered clash against Kuwait at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. The game ended with both sides reduced to ten men, and India head coach Igor Stimac once again being sent off, this time for objectionable words to the match officials.
Stimac, who was only back on the touchline after serving a one-match ban for the red card he received against Pakistan, made six changes to the side that beat Nepal 2-0. Amrinder Singh was back in goal, Sandesh Jhingan and Anwar Ali resumed their partnership at the heart of the defence, and Jeakson Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan and Lallianzuala Chhangte also were recalled into the starting XI. India started with Ashique in a withdrawn role behind skipper Sunil Chhetri, and that worked in stopping Kuwait's Sultan Alenezi from dictating the tempo of the game with his passing range.
India pressed high and with intent, but in the early exchanges, that didn't lead to too many tangible openings. In fact, it was Kuwait who had the first big chance of the match, as some lax Indian defending allowed Mohammad Abdullah to go one-on-one with Amrinder, but the Indian goalkeeper charged out and got a fist to it to deflect it into the side netting.
In a half where India's openings were largely coming from set-pieces, Anwar Ali should've done better with his header off Anirudh Thapa's corner in the 40th minute, but he glanced wide. But soon after, off another Thapa corner, Chhetri made no mistake. He cleverly disguised his lack of movement, saw the ball land at his feet around the penalty spot and lashed a sweet volley into the bottom corner to give India the lead.
Stimac's men made the early running in the second half as well, as Ashique and Chhetri had half-chances, that just went away from them. After some routines saves for Amrinder to make and a solid last-ditch tackle from Jhingan, it began to feel like India were managing the game to a win, but Stimac's red card was a turning point.
The Croatian stepped on the wrong side of the Bangladeshi referee one time too many after having already been booked, and was sent off for the second time in this tournament. For the record, in four years of Stimac's tenure as head coach, India have received only one red card (Rahul Bheke against Qatar).
Rahim Ali and Hamad Alqallaf were then involved in a scuffle after the latter pushed substitute Sahal Abdul Samad onto the ground, and both were promptly given their marching orders as well.
The drama didn't end there, as Kuwait found enough time for an equaliser. A clever passing sequence between Salman Mohammad and Abdullah Albloushi saw the latter deliver a ball into the danger area. Anwar was in the right position, but he couldn't make proper contact with his left foot and sliced it past a helpless Amrinder to trigger wild celebrations on the Kuwaiti bench.
India finishing second in the group now means that they will likely face Lebanon in the semifinal on Saturday, having already faced them twice earlier this month at the Intercontinental Cup.
Relive all the action as it happened below: