India's head-to-head record against SAFF Championship opponents Kuwait

India and Kuwait have a historical past.

Once Asia's biggest footballing force, the Kuwait national team is now not as feared as it was once. After laying claim to being Asia’s finest by winning the 1980 AFC Asian Cup, the Kuwait national team went on to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. There, they delivered a controversial moment for the ages when Prince and football association President Sheikh Fahad walked onto the pitch and forced the referee to disallow France’s goal against them.

Since their golden days in the 80s, Kuwait’s football trajectory has been downward. They have failed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup two consecutive times now. This will be Kuwait’s first appearance at the SAFF Championship since they are not from South Asia and will join Lebanon as the two guest invitees in a bid to increase the level of competition.

The Blue Tigers have played only three matches against Kuwait, or Al-Azraq as they are called in Arabic. Let's look at how they panned out.

India 1-9 Kuwait (November 14, 2010)

The most recent encounter between the two nations, happened in the run up to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, and saw Kuwait inflict on the Indian side their third worst defeat in history.

The star of the game held at Al-Ahda Stadium in Abu Dhabi was former Al-Nassr player (loan) Bader Al-Mutawa who also held the record for the most international caps in men’s football (196) till Cristiano Ronaldo overtook him during the UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifiers. 

Al-Mutawa scored four in the game with Yousef Naser Al Sulaiman, Jarah Al Ateeqi, Fahad Al Enezi, Khaled Khalaf and Hammad Naif Al Enezi also bagging goals. India’s sole goal was scored by substitute Mohammed Rafi.

India 3-2 Kuwait (November 5, 2004)

The Blue Tigers and Al-Azraq faced off in an international friendly in Kuwait City and this time the Indian team avoided the blues.

Al Hamad opened the scoring for the hosts in the 35th minute. India equalised in the 48th through Tomba Singh who is currently the assistant coach at I-League club NEROCA FC. Bashar Abdullah put Kuwait back in the lead six minutes later.

But the event that solidified this match in the history books happened in the 64th minute. After coming on as a substitute, Mizo midfielder Jerry Zirsanga broke free on the right flank, sprinted and then finished with a composed shot to become India’s youngest ever goal-scorer (till date) at 16 years and 311 days.

Abhishek Yadav scored the winner in the 75th minute to secure a 3-2 win for Stephen Constantine’s Men in Blue.

India 1-6 Kuwait (December 17, 1978)

The first meeting between the two national teams was at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok. Under head coach Arun Ghosh, who won the gold medal in the 1962 edition as a player, India progressed from the group stage after losing to Malaysia and defeating Bangladesh.

Following the preliminary group phase, the qualified teams were placed in two groups. The Blues from West Asia thrashed their South Asian opponents 6-1. India’s only goal was scored by Surajit Sengupta, who represented all three Kolkata clubs - Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, and Mohammedan SC, in his decorated domestic career. 

The Blue Tigers went on to lose 3-1 to North Korea and 3-0 to Iraq in the other Group 1 matches of the semi-final. This resulted in a bottom place finish with a -10 goal difference. Although Kuwait too failed to progress, finishing third in the group, India’s defeat came at the hands of a side that finished runners-up at the previous Asian Cup in 1976, won the next Asian Cup (1980) and then made an appearance in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

Although Kuwait have been on a decent run of form in 2023, Igor Stimac’s Blues will fancy their chances against Rui Bento’s side, who are currently sitting 42 spots below them (at #143) in the FIFA rankings. The Blue Tigers face Kuwait on 27th June in their last Group A match.