Kuwait clinched a 3-1 win against Nepal in the opening match of the SAFF Championships at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Wednesday.
The higher-ranked Kuwait (143 to Nepal’s 174) started off as the better side, with Hamad Alharbi and Fawaz Alotaibi threatening in the Nepal final third a couple of times inside the opening 10 minutes.
The breakthrough came in the 23rd minute from a Kuwait corner.
Alotaibi swung a cross inside the box, which prompted Nepal keeper and captain Kiram Limbu to come off his line to collect the ball.
But Limbu completely misjudged the flight of the ball and Kuwait’s skipper Khaled Hajijah – who was present in the right place at the right place – made no mistake in heading the ball into the empty net.
With the Al-Azraq dominating proceedings, Kuwait bagged its second in the 41st minute.
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Mohammad Abdullah made a darting run down the left flank and sent a low cross inside the box. Shabaib Al-Khaldi trapped the ball with a wonderful first touch, used his strength to shield it and on the turn, slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner.
The second half started with both teams making some careless fouls across the pitch.
But when the dust settled, Kuwait began to show its class again with some snappy passing which Nepal found difficult to deal with.
Nepal conceded its third goal in the 65th minute due to its own mistake – a handball inside the box by midfielder Rohit Chand. Abdullah stepped up to take the spot-kick and lashed the ball inside the net, sending Limbu the wrong way.
Despite being 3-0 down, Nepal did not throw the towel. Backed by a zestful Vincenzo Alberto Annese on the touchlines, the Gorkhalis kept trying and were gifted for their effort in the 68th minute.
With the win, Kuwait tops the Group D standings at the moment with defending Champion and fellow group-member India in action against Pakistan later tonight.
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