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India will be looking to kickoff their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign on a positive note when they travel to Jaber Al-Ahmed international Stadium to take on Kuwait in a Group A fixture on Thursday. This will be the third meeting between these two sides this year, having faced off in the SAFF Championship in June and July. Although the group stage clash ended in a 1-1 draw, the Blue Tigers prevailed 5-4 on penalties in the final at Sree Kanteerava Stadium on July 4 after the match ended 1-1 in 120 minutes of play. Meanwhile, with eight guaranteed places at the upcoming expanded World Cup for grabs from Asia’s section, India will fancy their chances of competing in North America in less than three years time.
ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪɢ ᴅᴀʏ ɪꜱ ʜᴇʀᴇ 🔥
🇮🇳 Our #BlueTigers 🐯 will face Kuwait 🇰🇼 in their opening encounter of #FIFAWorldCup Qualifiers campaign today 💪🏼
🕙 10 PM IST
🏟️ Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait
💻 @SonyLIV #KUWIND ⚔️ #BackTheBlue 💙 #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/y2y0mAk4hW— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) November 16, 2023
Kuwait are heading into the match on the back of a 2-1 win over Syria in a friendly on October 17. The Blue Wave secured only their second win from last five outings courtesy of Al Khaldi’s first-half brace after Nosour Qasioun took the lead through Al Somah’s 17th-minute opener. Kuwait famously drew 1-1 against Czechoslovakia in Valladolid in their first ever World Cup match in 1982, before losing 4-1 to France and 1-0 to England as they bowed out of the group stage. That was the golden period for Kuwaiti football and they will be hoping to return to the global stage come 2026. Although 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar will be expected to top Group A, two teams will advance to the next round of qualifying, making Kuwait’s home’s game against India a crucial one.
India, on the other hand, have grown leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. The Blue Tigers are the second highest ranked team in the group, as they are sitting at the 102nd position in the latest FIFA World rankings, only behind Qatar. Igor Stimac’s side recorded a 11 game unbeaten run across all competitions, earlier this year, which ended with a hard-fought 3-2 defeat away to Iraq in a friendly back in September. Although back-to-back defeats against Lebanon and Malaysia followed, Stimac will be confident about his team’s chances to making it to their first ever World Cup finals. Once again, the onus will be on 39-year-old Sunil Chhetri find the back of the net, but the emergence to youngsters Sahal Abdul Samad and Mahesh Singh Naorem among others will be give lot of confidence to the Croatian tactician.
Kuwait probable starting lineup: Kameel, Ammar, El Ebrahim, H Al-Enezi, Al Qallaf, S Al Enezi, Hani, Al Faneni, Al Dhaferi, Daham, Al Khaldi
India probable starting lineup: Sandhu; Poojari, Jhingan, Ali, Mishra; Suresh, Thapa; Chhangte, Samad, Mahesh; Chhetri
Kuwait
| Opponents | Score |
| Syria | 1-2 (W) |
| UAE | 1-0 (L) |
| Kyrgyzstan | 3-1 (L) |
| Bahrain | 1-3 (W) |
| India | 1-2 (L) |
India
| Opponents | Score |
| Malaysia | 4-2 (L) |
| Lebanon | 1-0 (L) |
| Iraq | 3-2 (L) |
| Kuwait | 1-2 (W) |
| Lebanon | 0-1 (W) |
| Last 3 match-results | Score |
| India beat Kuwait | 1-2 |
| India draw Kuwait | 1-1 |
| Kuwait beat India | 9-1 |
The FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier between Kuwait and India will take place at Jaber Al-Ahmed International Stadium on Thursday at 10:00 pm IST.
| Kuwait vs India | Key Details |
| Date | November 16 |
| Venue | Jaber Al-Ahmed International Stadium |
| Kickoff time in Kuwait | 7:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 10:00 pm |
Football fans in India catch the live action via Sony Sports network. Meanwhile, those in Kuwait can watch the match on KTV Sport.
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