Sunil Chhetri netted an early brace before adding another after the break for his fourth international hat-trick, thereby taking his tally to 90 goals and leaving Mokhtar Dahari of Malaysia behind who has 89 international goals to his name.
Sandesh Jhingan joins on a three-year contract and will be the third Indian international to join the FC Goa ranks this summer, following the arrivals of Rowllin Borges and Udanta Singh.
"I hope Kuwait and Lebanon feel welcome in every sense here in this beautiful city of Bengaluru. This SAFF Championship is going to be very competitive. Our group is special (Pakistan, Nepal and Kuwait), and every game will be different. The crowd will enjoy good football, and let's hope for
After the Indian football team sealed the Intercontinental Cup 2023, they have decided to donate a part of the cash award towards "relief and rehabilitation" to the families affected by the triple train tragedy in Balasore.
Captain Sunil Chhetri and winger Lallianzuala Chhangte scored the two goals that led to India lifting the Intercontinental Cup. India have played six matches so far in 2023 and kept clean sheets in all of them.
In what was the first-ever tournament for the Blue Tigers in the Odisha capital, the fans were treated to a fantastic spectacle over the course of four matches, where India did not concede any goals en route to reclaiming the title they last won in 2018.
With the Intercontinental Cup culminating in the keenly awaited final clash between India and Lebanon, the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) representatives arrived at Kalinga Stadium to witness the historic moment.
India finished top of the standings at the end of the group stage with seven points and no goals conceded, registering wins over Mongolia (2-0) and Vanuatu (1-0), and a draw with Lebanon (0-0). The Cedars were also held goalless by Mongolia after beating Vanuatu 3-1 in their opening game.
After Thursday's pulsating 0-0 draw against Lebanon, it was Stimac who thought his side should have sealed the win with the numerous chances they had. Overall, he was happy with the performance and the game as a whole.
The iconic Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar is buzzing with activity, currently hosting the Intercontinental Cup and the 62nd Inter-State Athletic Championship, serving as India's new launchpad for athletes to compete in international and national tournaments.
Both sides had already booked their place in the final ahead of Thursday's game after Vanuatu recorded a narrow win against Mongolia in their last group game