KOLKATA, June 4: Kuwait will hold its final training session at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata this evening, ahead of its crucial match against India on Thursday, in the fifth round of Group A of the joint Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.

The Kuwaiti recently concluded a week-long training camp in Bangkok, Thailand. During this camp, Portuguese coach Rui Pinto focused on preparing all players and testing multiple tactics to ensure the team was ready to achieve a positive result and continue their journey in the qualifiers successfully.

Qatar has already secured the first qualification spot for the decisive stage of the World Cup qualifiers and a place in the Asian Cup finals, leading the group with a perfect score of 12 points. Kuwait, with 3 points, is competing with India and Afghanistan (also 3 points each) for the second qualification spot.

Tonight's training session is expected to reveal the lineup Pinto will use against India. The coach has emphasized maintaining secrecy during this sole practice session.

Pinto has selected 26 players for the national team roster, including Mohamed Dahham, Faisal Zayed, Youssef Nasser, Al-Hoshan, Sami Al-Sanea, Fahd Al-Hajri, Ahmed Al-Dhafiri, Reda Hani, Mashari Ghannam, Rashid Al-Dossari, Khaled Ibrahim, Abdul Aziz Wadi, Eid Al-Rashidi, Mubarak Al-Fannin, Bandar Bouresli, Hamad Harbi, and Salman Buramiya.

Salman Al-Awadi was excluded from the list due to receiving a red card during the recent Asian Cup finals in Qatar, and Moaz Al-Asmaa has been chosen to replace him.

Jamal Al-Otaibi, a member of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Football Association and head of the national team delegation in Bangkok, confirmed that the camp proceeded according to plan. Al-Otaibi expressed confidence that the players are aiming for a satisfactory result against India to please Kuwaiti fans eager to see their team succeed internationally.

He also extended his gratitude to the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Thailand, Muhammad Al-Failakawi, for his support in facilitating the team's mission during the camp and for visiting the training sessions to ensure everything was progressing as planned.

Khaled El Anzi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff