India has been largely impressive in the tournament, defeating Pakistan 4-0and Nepal 2-0 to maintain a clean sheet so far. Kuwait thrashed Pakistan 4-0 and Nepal 3-1 in their Group matches. Nepal will take on Pakistan in the other Group A fixture today. The game will begin at 3:30 PM Indian Time. From Group B, Lebanon and Bangladesh registered wins in their second games on Sunday to keep their semi-final qualification hopes alive.

But India's previous result against fancied Kuwait is not at all comfortable.  India has suceeded in defeating Pakistan and Nepal but Kuwait is comparatively a stronger team .India will take on Kuwait in the last Group A game of the SAFF Championship at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru today. The match will begin at 7:30 PM Indian Time. Both sides, with six points apiece, have already qualified for the semifinals and will face off to determine the Group A topper. Nepal and Pakistan are the other rivals of Group A.

India have faced Kuwait three times at the senior level (one win, two defeats). The previous meeting came in a 2010 friendly in Abu Dhabi, which ended up in a 1-9 hammering for India. The only time the Blue Tigers beat the West Asians was in a 3-2 friendly win in 2004 in Kuwait City.

Kuwait may now be ranked 143, but that doesn’t divulge their true quality, according to Stimac. “I think Kuwait’s ranking is underestimated. They’ve had phenomenal performances in the last six months against strong Asian sides. They are a very quality team,” assessed the Croatian.

Led by Portuguese head coach Rui Bento, Kuwait have won seven of their last eight matches, including against the UAE, Tajikistan, Philippines and Zambia. In the SAFF Championship, they beat Nepal 3-1 before drubbing Pakistan 4-0.

Like India, Kuwait also made a host of changes for their second game – nine to be exact – but still registered a comfortable victory, demonstrating their bench strength. “We made several changes to keep our players from getting tired. I have confidence in all of them,” said Bento.