Kuwait Club and Al-Qadsiya continue preparations.

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 21: Al-Qadsiya secured a 2-1 victory against Al-Sulaibikhat in a friendly match held at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium’s subsidiary field. Moroccan professional Ismail Khafi netted both goals for the "Yellows" in their final warm-up before departing to Manama to face Bahrain’s Al-Riffa in the third round of Group Two of the Gulf Clubs Championship next Wednesday.

Currently, Al-Qadsiya holds third place in Group Two with one point from two rounds. Al-Riffa sits in second with three points after defeating Qatar’s Al-Arabi, while Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ettifaq leads the standings with six points. Al-Arabi trails in fourth place with one point, tied with Al-Qadisiyah but behind on goal difference.

Montenegrin coach Zeljko Petrovic expressed confidence in the team’s readiness, boosted by the return of international players Khaled Ibrahim, Khaled Al-Rashidi, Eid Al-Rashidi, Rashid Al-Dosari, Adhbi Shehab, and Moaz Al-Dhafiri following their commitments with the Kuwait national team in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The team plans to return to Kuwait on Thursday to prepare for its fourth-round rematch against Al-Riffa on December 4. The administrative staff confirmed that the squad is complete, except for Ahmed Shabib and Abdulaziz Wadi, who remain sidelined due to previous absences.

Montenegrin coach Nebojsa Jovovic resumed training sessions for Kuwait Club after a brief vacation. Key international players, including Fahad Al-Hajri, Sami Al-Sanea, Abdulrahman Kamil, Ahmed Al-Dhafiri, Reda Hani, Mishari Ghannam, Faisal Zayed, Mohammed Daham, Yousef Nasser, and Khaled Al-Kharqawi, are set to join the squad today.

The team will travel to Uzbekistan next Sunday to face Nasaf Qarshi in the fifth round of Group D matches in the AFC Champions League 2.

Al-Arabi is set to resume training on Saturday following a rest period granted after it qualifies for the Asian Challenge Cup semi-finals. The team will head to Doha in mid-December for an external training camp featuring several friendly matches as preparation for the Zain Premier League, which resumes in early January.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times