Kuwait and India will both be hoping to begin their World Cup 2026 qualifying campaigns with a victory when they meet in Group A on Thursday.
This match will be a repeat of the South Asian Football Federation Championship final in June, which India won on penalties after the two sides drew 1-1.
Match preview
With eight guaranteed places at the upcoming expanded World Cup up for grabs from Asia's section alone, Kuwait will fancy their chances of competing in North America in less than three years time.
The Blue Wave famously drew 1-1 against Czechoslovakia in Valladolid in their first ever match at a World Cup in 1982, before losing 4-1 to France and 1-0 to England as they bowed out of the group stage.
That represented something of a golden age for Kuwait, who won the Asian Cup for the first and only time in 1980. This triumph was sandwiched by finishing second and third in 1976 and 1984 respectively, yet they have failed to qualify for each of the last two renditions of Asia's major international tournament or any World Cup since 1982.
They are currently led by former Boavista manager Rui Bento, who was appointed in August 2022. Results have generally improved under Bento's management, with 10 wins from 17 matches in all competitions, but it is now when he will truly be judged with reaching a World Cup on the line.
Although recent World Cup hosts Qatar will be expected to dominate Group A, two teams will advance to the next round of qualifying, making Kuwait's home game against India a crucial one. Although India are ranked higher than Kuwait in FIFA's world rankings, there is little doubt that Kuwait boast greater footballing heritage, while Afghanistan could be the whipping boys of the group.
Indeed, the Blue Tigers' opening qualifying game against Kuwait is unlikely to even be noticed by the majority of India's cricket-mad population, given that they are currently hosting the Cricket World Cup. Their beloved team will face New Zealand in the first semi-final of that competition on Wednesday.
However, former Croatia boss Igor Stimac has made significant progress since being appointed as India's manager in May 2019, taking them from their lowest-ever position of 173rd up to 102nd in FIFA's most recently published world rankings. This is only eight places shy of their highest ever ranking, which was set in 1996.
As such, there is growing belief that India have a chance of qualifying for their first ever World Cup, having reached the Asian Cup for the first time in 2011. The expansion of football's most prestigious tournament will undoubtedly open the door to developing nations, and there is no reason why a country boasting the gigantic population of India's cannot be one to profit from this.
Although India's form has not been great heading into this qualification campaign with recent defeats to Iraq, Lebanon and Malaysia likely to have dented confidence somewhat, they remain the second-highest ranked team in Group A. As such, if Stimac's side can begin on a positive note in Kuwait on Thursday, the sky is the limit for them after their triumph in the SAFF Championship.
Team News
Kuwait's goalscoring hopes are likely to predominantly rest on Shabaib Al-Khaldi's shoulders, with the 25-year-old hoping to move onto double figures after scoring against India in the SAFF Championship final in June.
Fahad Al Hajeri, who plies his trade for Al-Kuwait at club level, will expect to captain the side from the centre of defence.
India, meanwhile, will almost certainly be led by their legendary player Sunil Chhetri. The 39-year-old is his country's most-capped player with 143 appearances and counting, while he is comfortably their record goalscorer with 93 goals.
Interesting, all of Stimac's squad are domestic-based in the Indian Super League, with vice-captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu the next most experienced player on 65 caps. The 31-year-old will expect to add to that tally in the visitors' goal.
Kuwait possible starting lineup:
Kameel; Ammar, El Ebrahim, H Al-Enezi, Al Qallaf; S Al Enezi, Hani; Al Faneni, Al Dhaferi, Daham; Al Khaldi
India possible starting lineup:
Sandhu; Poojari, Jhingan, Ali, Mishra; Thaunaojam, Thapa; Chhangte, Samad, Kuruniyan; Chhetri
We say: Kuwait 1-1 India
Both nations will be targeting this match as a hugely important one given that they could be fighting for second spot sandwiched in between Qatar and Afghanistan.
There is likely to be an edgy element to the encounter after their recent meeting at the SAFF Championship final in June, and we would not be surprised to see a repeat scoreline play out with the two sides sharing the spoils on this occasion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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