Kuwait Olympic team training for the upcoming West Asian Championship.

DUBAI, March 9: The Kuwait national team is currently undergoing an intensive training camp in Dubai, UAE, which will last for 10 days. As part of their preparations, they will play a friendly match against the Chinese national team next Friday before facing Iraq and Oman on March 20 and 25, respectively, in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi is focused on ensuring the squad is fully prepared for these crucial encounters, especially with some players dealing with minor muscle injuries and others experiencing fatigue due to a demanding schedule in the Zain Premier League.

Players from Al-Qadsiya and Al-Arabi are set to join the squad next Thursday, as Al-Qadisiya participates in the Gulf Champions League and Al-Arabi competes in the Asian Challenge Cup.

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti Olympic team, led by Croatian coach Dario Bačić, has finalized a 26-player squad for the upcoming West Asian Championship, set to take place in Muscat, Oman, starting March 19.

Kuwait has been placed in Group Four, where they will face Jordan. A total of eight teams are competing in the tournament, including Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Kuwait.

The squad includes: Abdullah Musa, Khaled Al-Kharqawi, Fahad Al-Azmi, Hamoud Al-Sanousi, Abdullah Al-Ghaniman, Mohammed Al-Suraie, Ahmed Bodi, Mohsen Ghareeb, Abdullah Al-Awadhi, Ali Jabr, Saleh Al-Muhtab, Abdulrahman Al-Rashidi, Jarrah Al-Hilali, Nasser Al-Enezi, Salem Al-Khatlan, Bandar Al-Barazi, Omar Al-Saleem, Eid Al-Raqaba, Omar Al-Azmi, Saad Al-Ajmi, Montaser Abdulsalam, Jassim Al-Enezi, Mohammed Al-Kandari, Abdulrahman Al-Harbi, Omar Al-Matar, and Dhari Al-Masri.

The team has begun training at the subsidiary field of Jaber Al-Ahmad Stadium and is scheduled to depart for Muscat next Thursday.

Jordan’s head coach, Omar Najhi, has also unveiled his preliminary squad for the tournament, featuring players such as Murad Al-Faluji, Salama Salman, Abdulrahman Suleiman, Ali Hajbi, Ahmed Ayman, Arafat Al-Haj, Ayham Al-Samamra, Jaafar Samara, Zakaria Amro, Ibrahim Al-Jadi, Obada Kamel, Mohammed Taha, Anas Al-Khab, Ahmed Al-Maghribi, Qutaiba Al-Ajalin, Mohammed Kahlan, Hashem Al-Mobaideen, Saif Suleiman, Hussein Al-Rashdan, Mahmoud Yazan, Qusay Al-Mansouri, Saif Darwish, Awda Al-Fakhouri, Ali Azaiza, Ayham Hisham, Obaida Al-Namarneh, Bakr Kalbouna, Rakan Abu Al-Haj, Abdulrahman Al-Zaghiba, and Ahmed Al-Harahsheh.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff