New Delhi [India], September 20 (ANI): The Indian men's futsal team will begin only their second-ever AFC Futsal Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign against hosts Kuwait in Group A at the Qushaian Al-Mutairi Hall in Ardiya on Saturday, as per the AIFF website.

The 14-member Futsal Tigers squad arrived in Kuwait on September 16 after playing two friendly matches in Lebanon against the hosts. While India lost both games (2-7 and 4-7), head coach Reza Kordi, who hails from Iran, believed that it was more about gaining international match experience than the results.

'In my philosophy, we never lose,' said Kordi. 'Sometimes we win, sometimes we learn. We learned a lot from our matches against Lebanon.'

The AFC Futsal Asian Cup Indonesia 2026 Qualifiers will see 31 teams, divided into eight groups, battle for 15 qualifying spots. India are in Group A with Kuwait, Australia and Mongolia. The eight group toppers, along with the seven best second-placed finishers, will join hosts Indonesia in next year's final tournament.

Speaking at the pre-tournament press conference, India's head coach Reza Kordi said, 'I would like to specially thank the Kuwait Football Association for their good organisation and for hosting us.'

'Honestly, we had a short time for preparation, but we trained very, very well. We had two weeks of local camp in Bengaluru and played two friendly matches against Lebanon. I hope to make India proud after this tournament,' said Kordi, who has extensive experience in coaching futsal across Asia in Qatar, Myanmar, Thailand, Afghanistan, his home nation Iran, and Kuwait as well.

He and his boys are heading into the all-important Qualifiers with high spirits after a positive performance in the second friendly, where they held a side ranked 81 places above them at 3-3 at the end of the first half.

The 135th-ranked Indian side will have a mountain to climb against the highest-ranked team in the group Kuwait, placed 43rd in the world. But Kordi stressed that these Qualifiers are about competing, growing and creating history by winning India's first international futsal match.

'As everyone knows, we are new to futsal and still developing in Asia, but I think we are here to compete. In my opinion, all four teams have a chance to qualify for Indonesia, and I hope India can take that step. Rankings may explain who will start as favourites and who will maintain their level, but for us, this is about growth,' said the Iranian.

Nikhil Mali, the India captain and the all-time top-scorer of the AIFF Futsal Club Championship, said, 'The preparations have been really good, and the coach has taught us a lot of things. With India appointing a foreign futsal coach for the first time, his experience has been invaluable. As time passed, with more matches and training sessions, we learned a lot and improved.'

After the conclusion of the AIFF Futsal Club Championship in Rudrapur last month, the best-performing players were selected for the national camp that was held in Bengaluru. The squad was then narrowed down to 14 players who travelled to Lebanon and subsequently to Kuwait.

'The two friendly matches against Lebanon helped us a great deal. In the first match, we didn't perform so well, but in the second, being 3-3 at half-time gave us real belief that India can compete with some of the best teams in Asia if we continue to trust ourselves,' the 28-year-old said.

Mali is one of the five players, alongside Lalsangkima, David Laltlansanga, Bijoy Gusai and K Roluahpuia, who were part of India's first-ever futsal squad that competed in the last qualifiers in 2023 in Tajikistan.

'Compared to the 2023 qualifiers, I think we are in much better shape this time. We have learned so many new things through the coach's experience, and the squad now has a good mix of experienced players and fresh talent who are training really well,' Mali concluded. (ANI)