Nepal got off to a poor start in the SAFF Championship 2023 after they lost to Kuwait 3-1 in the inaugural match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore, India on Wednesday.

Kuwait looked comfortable having started as favourites against Nepal and went 2-0 up before the break, with Khalid Hajiah and Shabaib Alkhaldi hitting the targets.

Nepal’s Italian coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese made only one change from a side that lost 1-0 against the Philippines in Manila in their international friendly match last week, starting Manish Dangi instead of Ayush Ghalan.

Fourteen members of the Nepali squad were participating in the biennial competition for the first time.

Despite starting the game with aggression that saw defender Bimal Pandey and forward Nawayug Shrestha waste two opportunities, Nepal’s tiredness and lack of preparation was visible against a strong Kuwait side. Nepal were playing the tournament only days after the conclusion of a hectic Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League.

Pandey failed to orchestrate a shot from near the penalty spot in the 6th minute before Nawayug selfishly arrowed a shot off the bar from the right, leaving Anjan Bista frustrated.

Kuwait, too, were far from their best. But they still had the cutting edge to pounce on a switched off Nepali defenders, twice.

Hajiah gave Kuwait the lead in the 23rd minute when a lack of communication and coordination among Nepal captain and goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu and defenders allowed him to head in a corner from Fawaz Alotaibi into the empty net.

Alkhaldi doubled Kuwait’s advantage in the 41st minute, also taking advantage of a sloppy defending that saw Alkhaldi outmuscling and outwitting Pandey before coolly slamming low past goalkeeper Limbu.

Kuwait’s defenders were, by contrast, more organised and disciplined and did not allow Nepal to muster a single shot before the break.

Improved display

Annese threw in Ayush Ghalan after the restart and the winger’s prowess to hold on to ball possession allowed Nepal with more attacking options.

Ghalan quickly made an impact. In the 57th minute, the winger cut back for Bista who crossed for Sanish Shrestha for a diving header that inched away from the bar.

Unfortunately, Nepal fell further behind in the 65th minute when Mohammad Abdullah scored from the spot kick that was awarded to Kuwait after Ananta Tamang handled the ball inside the area.

Anjan Bista cut the deficit three minutes later. Bista charged into the box to find a poor back header from Abdalla Albloushi and slotted past Kuwait goalkeeper Abdul Rahman Marzouq for his 12th international goal for Nepal.

It was Nepal’s only third goal against Kuwait in their ten meetings. Bista also became the third player to score against Kuwait after YB Ghale during the 1982 Asian Games and Darshan Gurung during the 2022 Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Annese also introduced Nabin Lama, Aashish Chaudhary and Avash Lamichhane in the second half searching for chances and goals but it was already too late.

Instead, goalkeeper Limbu had to make two saves at the other end to stop the bleeding.

Nepal next face hosts India in a must-win match on Saturday.

India thrash Pakistan

Favourites India made a flying start to their defence of the SAFF crown with a 4-0 rout of Pakistan.

Sunil Chhetri scored a hat-trick to extend his goal-tally for India to 90 and Udanta Kumam added the team’s fourth, also at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

India are looking to win a record-extending ninth SAFF trophy.

Pakistan national team had landed in India from Mauritius only on Wednesday morning due to visa issues. However, over half of the team could reach the team hotel near the match venue barely six hours before the kick-off due to unavailability of ticket in a single flight and delays related to immigration clearance at the Mumbai airport, according to reports.

Pakistan were visiting Mauritius to participate in the Four Nations Cup that also involved Kenya and Djibouti. Djibouti won the Cup, while Pakistan lost all three matches.

The two countries rarely play home matches against each other in any sport. India were hosting their arch-rivals Pakistan for the first time since 2014. The two neighbouring nations were also facing off for the first time since the 2018 SAFF Championship semi-finals in Bangladesh, with India winning 3-1.