KUWAIT CITY, July 13: Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro has emerged as the latest candidate to lead the Kuwaiti national team, succeeding his compatriot Rui Pinto, who was dismissed last month.

Previously, the Football Association received CVs from several notable coaches for this role, including Hector Cuper, Carlos Queiroz, Juan Pizzi, Djamel Belmadi, Niko Kovac, Bruno Metsu, Willy Sagnol, Felix Sanchez, Winfried Schaefer, and Jose Pekerman.

Peseiro, born on April 4, 1960, has an extensive coaching resume and significant experience in football. His career began as a player before transitioning to coaching. He has managed various teams, including União de Santarém, União de Montemor, Oriental, Nacional Madeira, Real Madrid (assistant coach), Sporting Lisbon, Al Hilal, Panathinaikos, Rapid Bucharest, the Saudi Arabian national team, Sporting Braga, Al Wahda, Al Ahly of Egypt, Porto, Sharjah, Vitoria de Guimarães, Venezuela, and most recently Nigeria.

The Kuwait Football Association aims to appoint a new coach before the team begins its campaign in the decisive round of qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Kuwaiti team is in Group 2, along with South Korea, Oman, Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan.

In related news, the Jordanian national team has started its physical and technical training in Amman under the leadership of coach Jamal Salami. This is part of its internal camp in preparation for the third and decisive round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The team held training sessions last Thursday at the Petra and Karama stadiums in Al-Hussein Youth City, with 24 players participating. The full roster, comprising 27 players, will be completed in the coming days.

The roster includes: Nour Bani Attia, Abdullah Al-Fakhoury, Ahmed Jaeedi, Yazid Abu Laila, Ihsan Haddad, Firas Shalbaya, Youssef Abu Al-Jazar, Hossam Abu Dahab, Muhannad Abu Taha, Salem Al-Ajalin, Abdullah Nasib, Saad Al-Rousan, Baraa Mar’I, Muhammad Abu Al-Nadi, Mahmoud Shawkat, Rajai Ayed, Youssef Abu Jalbush, Wassim Al-Riyalat, Arif Al-Hajj, Mahmoud Mardi, Nizar Al-Rashdan, Muhammad Abu Zureiq “Sharara”, Saif Darwish, Muhammad Abu Rizk, Anas Al-Awadat, Bakr Kalbouna, Ali Alwan.

The Jordanian national team delegation is set to leave for Turkey next Wednesday to enter a camp that includes three friendly matches.

Khaled El Anzi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff