SAFF Championship: India claim 9th title after defeating Kuwait 5-4 on penalties

The Indian football team added a ninth title to their tournament record after defeating Kuwait 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at extra time in the SAFF Championship 2023 final at the Sree Kanteerva Stadium on Tuesday.

This was the second meeting between the two teams in this year’s Championship with the first one in the Group Stage ending with a 1-1 draw.

Kuwait’s Shabib Al Khaldi found the back of the net in the 14^th minute giving Kuwait and early lead. However, their joy didn’t last long as India’s Lallianzuala Chhangte equalled the goal in the 38^th minute of the thrilling match.

Both India and Kuwait failed to score in the second half and the game went into extra time with a 1-1 score at full-time. The 30-minute extra time did not witness any goal from either team, leading to the game proceeding towards penalty shoutouts.

Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, Lallianzuala Chhangte converted their first three penalties for India while Udanta missed the fourth one. Subhasish Bose converted the last penalty for India.

Also Read: SAFF Championship: Sunil Chhetri key as India face Kuwait

From Kuwait’s side, Fawaz Al Otaibi, Ahmed Al-Dhefiri, Abdul Aziz Naji, Shabib Al Khaldi found the back of the net while Mohammad Abdullah Daham failed to convert the first penalty.

Both teams were given an extra penalty kick to break the 4-4 tie.

India’s Naorem Mahesh Singh scored and Gurpreet Singh managed to save Hajiah’s penalty, leading to India winning the title 5-4 on penalties.

This is India’s second consecutive win in the tournament as they had also claimed the title in 2021.

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