India's hopes for the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification took a big blow after a goalless draw against Kuwait in Kolkata on Thursday, June 6. The Blue Tigers failed to impress in captain Sunil Chhetri's last international match and also bottled their position in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
With just five points in five games, India face Asian giants Qatar away in their last game without their best footballer. India have to climb a mountain against Qatar as a draw will not be enough to get through to the third round. Both Kuwait and Afghanistan also remain in contention and face each other in their last game of the second round group stage.
Meanwhile, India handed a debut to young left-back Jay Gupta and made five changes to their starting eleven. India surprisingly left out striker Manvir Singh, who recorded the match-winning goal against Kuwait in November last year and started with Liston Colaco and Lalrinzuala Chhangte behind Chhetri.
Kuwait started well with an early golden chance and maintained the possession for the majority of the first half. India recovered well and dominated the latter stages of the second half with Chhangte and Chhetri creating some chances.
Both goalkeepers were on their toes with some brilliant saves throughout the game. India brought striker Rahim Ali and midfielder Brandon Fernandes at the start of the second half but the hosts kept struggling in the final third and never threatened Kuwait's impressive defence.
AFC FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Second Round Group A Table
| Teams | M | W | D | L | Points | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qatar | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 14 |
| India | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 |
| Kuwait | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| Afghanistan | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -10 |
India Starting XI: Gurpreet Singh Sandhi (GK), Rahul Bheke, Anwar Ali, Nikhil Pujary, Jay Gupta, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Liston Colaco, Lalrinzuala Chhangte, Sunil Chhetri.
Kuwait Starting XI: Sulaiman Abdulghafoor (GK), Rashed Aldousari, Khaled Ibrahim, Hasan Alanezi, Meshari Alenezi, Redha Abu-Jabarah, Eid Al-Rashidi, Athbi Saleh, Faisal Al-Harbi, Yousef Al-Sulaiman, Mohammad Abdulah.
