Kuwait eyes consolation win over South Korea
The Blues currently sit in sixth and last place in the group with five points, earned from five draws and four losses. In contrast, South Korea has already secured top spot with 19 points, followed by Jordan, which qualified for the World Cup for the first time in history after finishing second with 15 points. Iraq (12 points), Oman (10), and Palestine (9) round out the group standings.
Kuwait was officially eliminated from qualification in the previous round after suffering a 2-0 home loss to Palestine. Now, it aims to conclude their campaign with a positive result, despite its dream of returning to the World Cup after 43 years, coming to an end—its only appearance was in Spain 1982.
Head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi is seeking his first win in the qualifiers and his second overall victory since taking charge last July. His only win so far came against the UAE in the 26th Gulf Cup, hosted in Kuwait last December.
Kuwait will be without Mohammed Daham and Khaled Al-Rashidi due to yellow card accumulation. The availability of striker Yousef Nasser remains uncertain after an injury sustained against Palestine. In addition, Eid Al-Rashidi has withdrawn from the squad for personal reasons.
To compensate, Pizzi has called up goalkeeper Ahmed Adi (Al-Fahaheel) and striker Talal Al-Qaisi (Kazma). Despite these absences, hopes remain for a strong showing, especially as South Korea is expected to field a young lineup, according to their coaching staff.
Pizzi still has a solid core of players to rely on, including:
Fahad Al-Hajri, Mishari Ghannam, Reda Hani, Ahmed Al-Zanki, Ahmed Al-Dhafiri, Rashed Al-Dosari, Jassim Al-Matar, Mubarak Al-Fanini, Abdulwahab Al-Awadhi, Hassan Hamdan, Mohammed Khaled, Hussein Ashkanani, Yousef Majed, Hamad Harbi, Abdulrahman Al-Rashidi, Mahdi Dashti, Moaz Al-Asima, and Fawaz Ayed.
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