Kuwait held India to a goalless draw in Sunil Chhetri’s farewell match with the Blue Tigers in the World Cup qualification game, at the iconic Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium in Kolkata on Thursday.
The Blue Tigers dominated the first half by creating numerous chances but failed to find the back of the net to secure a victory in skipper Sunil Chhetri’s final match. Meanwhile, in the second half, the Kuwait side made a comeback, but Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu stood firm to stop them.
At the start of the game, Kuwait’s Mohammad Dahman placed a right-footed shot from the left side of the box, but it was saved by Gurpreet, giving the Blue Tigers a sigh of relief.
In the 11th minute, India got the best chance of the match when defender Anwar Ali’s stunning header just went over the goalpost. Minutes later, Lallianzuala Chhangte placed a left-footed shot from outside the box, but it went too high.
Kuwait’s Yousef Al Sulaiman came close in the 20th minute with a right-footed shot from outside the box, but it missed the left side of the goal. Five minutes later, Eid Al Rashedi of Kuwait made a run on the left side and came inside the box to take a left-footed shot, but it was not on target to trouble the Indian goalkeeper.
In the 26th minute, Anwar Ali again came close to giving India an early lead, but his header from the left side of the box was saved in the bottom left corner by the Kuwait goalkeeper.
Liston Colaco came close to scoring with a fiery shot from the left side of the box, but it hit the side netting, giving Kuwait relief.
Before the half-time whistle, India attempted many shots from outside the box, but they were blocked by the Kuwait defenders. The score remained 0-0 at the end of the first half.
In the second half, India’s Rahim Ali placed a right-footed shot from the centre of the box, but it was saved in the bottom right corner. In the 60th minute, Anwar Ali’s long-range effort from the right side was blocked by the Kuwait defender. Minutes later, the India skipper Sunil Chhetri came close to giving India the lead with a header, but it was blocked again.
Despite creating numerous chances, the Blue Tigers failed to find the back of the net and ended Sunil Chhetri’s farewell match with a goalless draw.
