The South Asian Football Federation Championship commonly known as the SAFF Cup came to a satisfying conclusion for Indian fans on Tuesday as India lifted the prestigious cup for the 9th time. It came after an exciting 2 weeks where India won their third trophy under the guidance of Head Coach Igor Stimac. The finals against Kuwait came in the backdrop of an unbeaten record in 2023 (so far), victories in the Tri-Nation Series and Intercontinental Cup, climbing up to 100 in the FIFA rankings (up from 106 in 2022), and passionate displays by the players and coaching staff.
The match started out in the worst possible fashion for India at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru when Kuwait opened the scoring before talismanic defender Anwar Ali was forced to be substituted due to injury. While fans had all but lost hope, Mumbai City forward Lallianzuala Chhangte scored after an error by the Kuwait defence. From there on the Indian players regained some of the confidence they had shown in their earlier matches to match Kuwait stride for stride.
The score remained tied at Full Time thereby extending the action by a further 30 minutes. The Extra Time continued on in the same vein with scored remaining at 1-1 even after 120 minutes.
PENALTIES!
Captain Sunil Chettri coolly converted the first penalty while Kuwait’s Daham missed. The fans went wild. 1-0!
Sandesh and Chhangte both converted their attempts while Fawaz and Ahmed both scored for Kuwait. 3-2!
Udanta stepped up to take the fourth and sent it into the stands while Abdul Aziz scored to make the scores level. There was a hush in the stadium. 3-3!
Subhasish Bose scored the fifth to calm Indian nerves while Shabib scored for Kuwait as well. 4-4!
Sudden Death!
Naorem Mahesh Singh scored to make it 5-4 before Khalid El Ebrahim stepped up to take the penalty against Indian Goalkeeper Gurpreet Sandhu. Khalid shot right, Gurpreet dove to his left.
Save!
Pandemonium as the players and the fans roared in one voice. India had successfully defended their crown and were going to lift the SAFF Cup for the 9th time.
Sunil Chettri was top scorer (5 goals) as well as player of the tournament. Chants of Vande Matram rang across the stadium as the Indian players and coaches lifted the trophy in front of a crowd of 26,380 fans.
The best part about this Igor Stimac lead Indian team is the passion they have shown over the last few years. The Croatian coach has already been sent off twice during the tournament due to bust ups with opposition benches and the Indians are fighting like never before – both on and off the pitch. But most importantly, they are all fighting for each other. Indian players have shown their intensity in nearly all their games. Matches against Pakistan, Nepal, and Kuwait have even witnessed flare ups with the Indians showing their willingness to get into scuffles if required – much to the delight of hardcore football fans like myself.
While it was worrying to watch India struggle against a lower ranked side, it was also heartening to watch the players tackling hard, running long, and most importantly fighting like a team. It was almost as if the troubles of 2022 and the AIFF ban were just a bad dream. The analysis and complaints will come later. But for now, I choose to marvel at the passion of the players and how fans are increasingly taking interest in Indian Football again.
Fabulous commentary. I agree this is a turning point in Indian football. The win is going to spur us to the qualifying round of world cup soon.
Fabulous commentary. I agree this is a turning point in Indian football. The win is going to spur us to the qualifying round of world cup soon.
For sure! But more work is needed to compete even at the Asian Cup
Grt article. Yes special win fr Indian football. Long way to go but promisingl👏👏👏
We are still miles off the world stage. But the fan excitement was promising
What a vivid description of the match and emotions of the crowd. Brilliantly captured!
What a vivid description of the match and emotions of the crowd. Brilliantly captured!
Thank You!
Well written ..it’s almost a graphic goal by goal or should I say kick by kick narrative.
Loved the piece.
Keep it coming
Murali
Thank you!
Excellently written blog.
Thank you!
Great article, lucid writing. It did build up an excitement while reading it towards the end of the article.
Yes, a good win for the Indian team. If Stimac can work out a strategy alongwith the powers-that-be to bridge the gap the team’s present level and what is required for becoming a team that can qualify for the World Cup, lan for a 8-10 year period and work towards that goal, it would be great.
In my opinion the important part was how vocal and passionate the fan base has become. We are still at least 10 years away (best case) to be playing in the world cup.