Pizzi and his staff start their mission with Al-Azraq.

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 24: The Kuwait senior soccer team will begin their training this evening at the Police Officers Club Stadium in Dubai, UAE. The team arrived yesterday to start a training camp that will run until September 2, before heading to Amman, Jordan, for its first match in the decisive round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on September 5. Al-Azraq is placed in Group Two alongside South Korea, Iraq, Palestine, and Oman.

The team is scheduled to return to Kuwait on September 6, in preparation for a game against Iraq on September 10. Head coach Juan Pizzi and his assistant staff will lead their first official training session with the national team today. Pizzi selected a 25-player squad for the upcoming matches, including Abdulrahman Kamil, Suleiman Abdul Ghafoor, Abdulrahman Al Fadhli, Rashid Al Dosari, Sami Al Sanea, Khaled Ibrahim, Fahad Al Hajri, Khaled Al Fadhli, Salman Burmiah, Faisal Zayed, Mahdi Dashti, Ahmed Al Dhafiri, Adhbi Shehab, Reda Hani, Hamad Harbi, Sultan Al Anzi, Yousef Majed, Salman Al Awadhi, Yousef Nasser, Eid Al Rashidi, Moaz Al Asima, Abdul Mohsen Al Ajmi, Hussein Ashkanani, Ali Khalaf, and Hamad Al Qallaf.

Team captain Khaled Ibrahim expressed confidence in the team's readiness, emphasizing the extensive experience of the new coaching staff and the team's commitment to living up to expectations. Fahad Al Hajri also stressed the importance of strong preparation for the two matches, acknowledging the challenge of facing formidable opponents aiming for World Cup qualification. He urged everyone to support Al-Azraq in their upcoming campaign, emphasizing that the team is not merely participating as "guests of honor" in the qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Jordan's head coach, Jamal Salami, announced the initial roster for the "Nashama" in preparation for their upcoming matches, including the game against Palestine on September 10. The coaching staff granted player Yazan Al-Naimat a brief delay in joining the Jordanian camp to complete his contract with Al-Arabi of Qatar. The Jordanian national team is set to face North Korea in two friendly matches.

Jordan’s roster includes Yazid Abu Laila, Nour Bani Attia, Abdullah Al-Fakhouri, Yazan Al-Arab, Abdullah Naseeb, Hijazi Maher, Saad Al-Rousan, Hussam Abu Dhahab, Ihsan Haddad, Firas Shalbaya, Mohammed Abu Hashesh, Salem Al-Ajaleen, Mohammed Abu Al-Nadi, Ali Hajbi, Yousef Abu Al-Jazar, Ibrahim Saada, Khaled Zakaria, Nizar Al-Rashdan, Nour Al-Rawabdeh, Mahmoud Shawkat, Rajai Ayed, Arif Al-Hajj, Mahmoud Mardi, Mohammed Abu Zureiq, Muhannad Abu Taha, Wassim Al-Riyalat, Yousef Abu Jalbus, Rizq Bani Hani, Musa Al-Taamari, Abdullah Al-Attar, Ali Alwan, and Yazan Al-Naimat.

Khaled Al-Anzi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff