Sunil Chhetri is standing in the middle of the pitch, soaking in the atmosphere for one last time at the Mecca of Indian football - the Salt Lake Stadium.
Chhetri signs off with 151 national caps under his belt.
India draw Kuwait 0-0 in Sunil Chhetri's farewell game. India take 15 shots at Kuwait but fail to convert any of them.
Fight erupts in the final minutes between Edmund and Kuwait players. On his debut, Edmund Lalrandika shoves one of the Kuwait players near the half-way touchline. Other players get involved as well. However, the referee remains calm and breaks off the players.
India are trying hard but failing to grab hold of the ball. 7 minutes have been added. Can India score?
India have made yet another attacking change. Stimac is taking a risk by shifting India to a back 3. Edmund Lalrindika comes into the field in place of left back Jay Gupta.
Kuwait have been robbed off a penalty. Anwar Ali has managed to tackle Yousef Nasser Salman in the box, with his sliding tackle hitting the shin of the player. However, the referee does not give a foul at all. Frustrated Kuwait players surround the referee but he is not going to be budged from his decision.
India captain Sunil Chhetri is leading the sprint charts at the moment. Chhetri has 25 sprints at the moment, majorly while trying to press Kuwait while they are off the ball.
Left winger Liston Colaco has been moved out of the playing XI. Manvir Singh comes in on the pitch.
India are unable to control their possession of the ball at the moment. Kuwait are finding their passes and attacking India through quick movement of the ball. Igor Stimac needs to find a system where India can control the mid-field and build from the back.
India are letting Kuwait dance in from their left flank and get into the box. India have managed to clear the threat but the fact that they let Kuwait dribble in and then put in a chip-cross inside the box is pretty worrying. India manage to counter and Rahim Ali is caught by Al Enezi on the break. The first yellow card of the game comes out and it goes to Al Enezi of Kuwait.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu comes to the rescue to keep India in the game. Rashidi takes a sharp shot with his right foot from the edge of the right side of the box. Sandhu dives to his right and punches the ball out of the danger area.
India have made two changes in their playing XI at half-time. Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad have been benched. In their place, Brandon Fernandes and Rahim Ali have come on.
It is all square at the Salt Lake Stadium as the team breaks for half-time. India has had the occasional chances but is yet to actually find its footing and impact the match.
Chhetri has not been able to get as involved as he would have wanted to as he dons the national colours for the last time.
Stay tuned with Xtra Time.IN. We will be back in the second half bringing you live updates from the India vs Kuwait FIFA World Cup qualifier.We have got 4 additional minutes to the first half and are yet to see a goal. Chhetri has shown some glimpses of his fine runs into the box, but the crosses from the flanks have just not been able to find the number 11.
What a powerful run from Chhangte!! His run was almost a picture perfect one, and was only stopped by an equally important intervention that stopped the cross.
Both Suresh and Nikhil Poojary have caused the majority of the troubles for Kuwait in this half. While Poojary took his time to gain composure with his defensive duties, his attacking runs in combination with Suresh have been great. Suresh has showed his dribbling briliances multiple times, and his set-pieces have often turned into the best chances for India in this game so far.
Kuwait's Al Rashidi has been a troubling sight for the India defence and specifically Rahul Bheke. Rashidi manages yet another gap from between the India defence, and the attack was only stopped from a desperate tackle from Nikhil Poojary.
Sunil Chhetri, is leading the sprint charts amongst both group of players, only defines of what a powrhouse of a striker this 39-year-old man is!!
Another good set-piece from the corner spot from Anirudh Thapa, and the rebound goes straight to the feet of Sahal. The volley is certainly a weak one from Sahal, but Colaco follow-on shot is powers its way to the side net.
Another brilliant run in from Chhangte and an equally good cross, only for the ball to find no India man inside the Kuwait box. India need to have more men to follow on these crosses rather than relying on Chhetri. Another corner for India!!
Another one-on-one chance for Kuwait due to a mishap from the India defence. Rahul Bheke left Al-Rashidi unmarked, who was left with just Gurpreet at goal. His chip attempt fails to even stay at the target, and the flag ultimately goes up for offside
Kuwait is now trying to slow this game down, as they switch focus to just keeping the possession in the middle of the field. The Indian defence has now found their marking structure.
Kuwait have had marginally better control of this match, but that includes their recurring problems with India's run from both the flanks. Kuwait has not been able to stop even a single India cross, and has only depended upon the centre-back clearances so far.
ANWAR ALI ALMOST GETS A GOAL!! A beautiful corner which finds Anwar Ali's powerful header. The power-header just skims past the top-post.
This is better stuff from India and they will be needed to keep up with this tempo.
Finally, India have also started making some attacking runs from the middle of the Kuwait defence, which saw Liston make a beautiful run into the box followed by a dangerous cross in. Chhetri just could not reach it but it does clinch a corner for India.
A wary defence lineup from India saw Kuwait's Al-Rashidi set up a beautiful through ball to Daham!!! A good save from Gurpreet who had no support from his defenders. This is shaky from the home side at the very start, and that will already start the scribbles on Igor Stimac's notebook.
It is Kick-Off at the Salt Lake stadium, and the emotional fixture has started-off with Kuwait taking the first kick of the match.
Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan stadium in Salt Lake Kolkata is visibly emotional about this game, watching the iconic Sunil Chhetri play his final game in national colours. Tifos, banners, cut-outs, masks, you name it all, its all about the India number 11 at Salt Lake today.
Coach Igor Stimac has fielded an attack-focused Playing XI, which might see Liston Colaco and Chhangte giving consistent stretches of rushing support to the eagle-eyed Chhetri in front. The likes of Anirudh Thapa and Sahal will try to look for gaps in the Kuwait defence line, relying particularly on their through balls to Captain Fantastic.
The Telengana-born striker, Chhetri has always maintained a healthy off-the-field relationship with his fans too, which he has always considered pivotal in building up a strong foundation for a successful national football team. These are only a few of the building blocks that led to the Indian football fans bestowing the title of 'Captain Fantastic' on Chhetri.
The DAY is finally here as the momentous duel awaits the braves ????????
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 6, 2024
For, @chetrisunil11 you will remain a #LegendForever
Let’s make it special for him. #INDKUW #ThankYouSC11 #FIFAWorldCup ???? #BlueTigers ???? #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/SaHRX8oiGU
India captain Sunil Chhetri's final dance in the India jersey will come full circle around his career, after having started his top-flight football career for Mohun Bagan at the same ground in Salt Lake.
The Blue Tigers have arrived at the Fortress! ????#INDKUW #ThankYouSC11 #FIFAWorldCup ???? #BlueTigers ???? #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/BPNcvlyPGy
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 6, 2024
After the 2-1 loss to Afghanistan, India currently lie in second place in their group with 4 points. Currently, Qatar lead the group with their perfect 9 points in their 3 matches so far. India will also be hoping that Afghanistan will lose atleast one of their 2 upcoming matches, most preferably against Kuwait on June 11. This will see India qualify for the third round as the second-placed team of their group.
After playing 150 matches for the national side, Chhetri currently is the fourth highest goalscorer on the men's international football leaderboard with his 94 goals. The 39-year-old Indian star-striker is only trailing to football icons Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Ali Daei.
Sunil Chhetri starts alongside Anirudh Thapa, Liston Colaco start in India's playing XI against Kuwait. Subhasish Bose, Manvir Singh rested.
India Playing XI:
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK)
Rahul Bheke
Anwar Ali
Jay Gupta (debut)
Anirudh Thapa
Suresh Singh Wangjam
Sunil Chhetri (c)
Liston Colaco
Lallianzuala Chhangte
Sahal Abdul Samad
Nikhil Poojary
???????????????? ????????????????! ????
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 6, 2024
Here's how Igor Stimac lineup his Blue Tigers to face Kuwait in Kolkata. ⚡️
Let's aim for the ???? ????
????&????Watch the #INDKUW LIVE action only on @sports18 and @JioCinema #ThankYouSC11 #FIFAWorldCup ???? #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/cJQ295HcmH
Indian football fans gear up for India captain Sunil Chhetri's final international game in the side's FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kuwait on June 6 at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata. Chhetri will draw the curtains on his iconic international career, after having spent a record 19 years donning the Blue Tigers jersey and leading the side to a new era.
