Kuwait booking: Hamad Alqallaf sees the first yellow card of the night for his late challenge on Poojary

Zanki fouls Mishra in a bid to win the ball and India wins a foul. The coming together was no pleasant and both players are down on the pitch as the respective medical teams make their way to the players.

India sub: IN- Chhangte OUT- Mahesh

A training ground freekick from India as Mahesh goes for a low cross inside the box, aiming for Chhetri. The cross is accurate and the Indian skipper goes for a first-time shot, but it is blocked.

Manvir flashes a cross inside the box from the right, but none of the Indian players could meet the ball for the telling touch. Chhetri was the closest to getting to it but it looked like he wasn’t expecting it.

It has been a lively start to the second-half with both teams making plenty of penetration in the opposition half. However, no clear chances after that 47th minute header of Alhajeri.

CLOSE- Kuwait comes close to scoring in the early minutes of the second-half. The Al Azraqs have a freekick. A ball is delivered inside the box, which is met by a Alhajeri header. The ball misses the target but not by much as it hits the roof of the net. Gurpreet looked beaten there.

Kuwait half-time subs: IN- Zayid, Alqallaf, Zanki OUT- Hani. Ghareeb, Alfaneeni

The second-half of the Kuwait vs India FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier is underway at the Jaber al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.

Sunil Chhetri comes closest to scoring as the match remains goalless at the break.

Two minutes is added at the end of the first-half!

Manvir Singh looks to pounce on a loose ball inside the Kuwait box, but the Al Azraq backline does well to soak the pressure and snatch the ball from him.

Jhingan’s backpass to Gurpreet is not the best and it looked like Alkhaldi will intercept the ball in a dangerous area, but the India keeper does well to come out and clear the ball.

Abdulah shoots at goal from distance but the effort does not trouble Gurpreet, who collects without fuss.

Akash Mishra crosses deep inside the Kuwait box and Manvir looked favourite to get to the ball. But the cross is overhit and the Indian forward cannot get to it.

Ghareeb looked set to shoot from the edge of the Indian box but Poojary does well to snatch the ball and clear the danger.

Mahesh takes the freekick and it was a peach of a delivery inside the box. The ball seems to have missed everyone and goes straight to the keeper. It could have been a tricky one but Marzouq shows steady hands to collect the ball.

Poojary is fouled on the right flank and India has a freekick. It is a good opportunity to deliver a cross inside the box. Sahal and Mahesh standing over it.

Kuwait gets a freekick and Alkhaldi sends an inswinging cross inside the box, but Jhingan does well to get a clearing header.

CHANCE – Nikhil pings in a wonderful cross inside the box. Chhetri meets the cross and shoots at goal with a first-time effort. It is not the best of connections and the ball hits the roof of the net. The effort had the Kuwait keeper worried for a moment.

The play stops momentarily as Kuwait’s Alkhaldi seems to have an injury worry – a thigh issue more specifically. It does not look serious and he should continue for now.

Alfaneeni thought he had got the ball on the right edge of the India box after doing well to receive a diagonal, but the assistant referee raises the flag for offside.

India has a good spell of pressure, which ends with Manvir shooting at goal from outside the box. It is a weak effort as the ball trickles to Kuwait keeper Marzouq.

India tries to build an attack from the right flank as Nikhil and Manvir try to combine. Alanezi does well to put in a slide and send the ball out for a throw-in. It has been a 50-50 contest as of now.

Chhetri does well to steal the ball in the final third, but his through ball to an overlapping Manvir on the right is cut out. That was good intent shown from the Indian skipper.

An early charge from Kuwait as a cross comes in from the left, but there is no one to receive the cross. The Indian defence deals with the ball comfortably.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier between Kuwait and India has kicked-off at the Jaber al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.

“We had a good preparation. We trained for five days in Dubai, adjusting to everything that we are expecting. How you open the qualifiers, with zero, one or three points, can make a huge difference.”

IND: Gurpeet(GK), Bheke, Jhingan, Akash, Suresh, Manvir, Lalengmawia, Chhetri(c), Sahal, Mahesh, Nikhil

KUW: Marzouq(GK), Alanezi, Ibrahim(c), Alhajeri, Sultan, Abujabarah, Alfaneeni, Alkhaldi, Saleh, Ghareeb, Abdulah

Played – 5 | Kuwait – 2 | India – 1 | Draw – 2

India’s quest to qualify for the World Cup 2026 gets underway 30 months before the tournament as the Blue Tigers take on 136-ranked Kuwait in the 60,000-seater Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in the capital of the Middle Eastern country.

It was just over four months ago when Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s outstretched left glove pushed out Kuwait captain Khaled Hajiah’s penalty to win the SAFF Championship final in Bengaluru. However, for Indian head coach, Igor Stimac all that’s in the past now. The Croat has urged his players to forget that and start with a clean slate.

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When and where will the India vs Kuwait FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying match start?

The India vs Kuwait FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying match will kick-off at 10:00 PM IST, Thursday, November 16 at the Jaber al-Ahmad International Stadium.

Where can you live stream the India vs Kuwait FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying match?

The India vs Kuwait match will be live streamed on the Sony LIV app and website.