Kuwait national football team

Kuwait

Nickname(s)	Al Azraq
Association	Kuwait Football Association
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	Goran Tufegdžić
Most caps	Bashar Abdullah (134)
Top scorer	Bashar Abdullah (75)
Home stadium	Kuwait National Stadium
FIFA code	KUW
FIFA ranking	85
Highest FIFA ranking	24 (December 1998)
Lowest FIFA ranking	128 (November 2008)
Elo ranking	101
Highest Elo ranking	26 (December 1998)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Kuwait 2 - 2 Libya (Morocco; September 3, 1961)
Biggest win
Kuwait 20 - 0 Bhutan (Kuwait City, Kuwait; February 14, 2000)
Biggest defeat
United Arab Republic 8 - 0 Kuwait (Morocco; September 4, 1961) Portugal 8 - 0 Kuwait (Leiria, Portugal; November 19, 2003)
World Cup
Appearances	1 (First in 1982)
Best result	Round 1, 1982
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances	8 (First in 1972)
Best result	Winners, 1980

The Kuwait National Football Team is the national team of Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. They made one World Cup Finals appearance, in 1982, managing a draw with Czechoslovakia but losing to England and France. During the match against France, France scored a goal while some of the Kuwaiti players had stopped, having heard a whistle. The goal was initially awarded by the referee, who had not blown, but Kuwait walked off the pitch in protest. They eventually resumed playing only after the intervention of Sheikh Fahad Al Ahmed and the referee's changing his mind to disallow the French goal.

They had better success contending for the Asian Cup, reaching the finals in 1976 and taking home the winner's trophy in 1980.

Kuwait's 20-0 win over Bhutan in 2000 was at the time the biggest ever win in international football. It was surpassed in 2001, when Australia beat Tonga 22-0. Also in 2000, Kuwait took part at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Kuwait, who last qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 1982, were drawn with Iran, Syria and the United Arab Emirates in Group Five. Kuwait ended up last in the group and ended its campaign with a 2-0 defeat in Tehran against Iran.

History

Temporary Suspension

In October 30 2007, Kuwait was suspended by FIFA from all participation in international football, on the grounds of governmental interference in the national football association.^[1] The ban lasted less than 2 weeks.^[2]

In October 24 2008, Kuwait was again suspended by FIFA from all participation in international football, because of its failure to hold the General Assembly elections by mid-October. ^[3]. FIFA provisionally lifted its suspension on the Kuwait Football Association (KFA) on December 22, 2008. ^[4].

2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

Additional information: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - AFC Third Round

Kuwait were in the same FIFA World Cup qualifying group as Iran, Syria and United Arab Emirates. Kuwait started their World Cup campaign in Abu Dhabi against United Arab Emirates and lost 2-0. Their next game came at home against Iran which ended in a 2-2 draw, Iran were leading by 2 goals in the first 5 minutes. In Round 3, Kuwait lost 1-0 to Syria. Kuwait first win came at home in round 4 against Syria, Ahmad Ajab scored a hattrick which led Kuwait to a 4-2 victory & kept their chances of reaching the world cup alive. Kuwait's next game was also at home, against United Arab Emirates, which they lost 3-2. Kuwait ended their campaign with a 2-0 loss against Iran, and ended last in the group.

Group 5

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Iran 6 3 3 0 7 2 +5 12  United Arab Emirates 6 2 2 2 7 7 0 8  Syria 6 2 2 2 7 8 -1 8  Kuwait 6 1 1 4 8 12 -4 4

Iran  2–0 0–0 0–0 Kuwait  2–2 4–2 2–3 Syria  0–2 1–0 1–1 United Arab Emirates  0–1 2–0 1–3

2011 AFC Asian Cup

Additional information: 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Kuwait were in the same AFC Asian Cup qualifying group as Australia, Indonesia and Oman. They played home and away against each of the other three teams in Group B, and finished as runners-up to Australia, thus reaching the finals for the nonth time.

Group B

Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium before tha match between Kuwait vs. Oman

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Australia	11	6	3	2	1	6	4	2
Kuwait	9	6	2	3	1	6	5	1
Oman	8	6	2	2	2	4	4	0
Indonesia	3	6	0	3	3	2	5	-3

World Cup record

World Cup record Year Round GP W D L GS GA 1930 to 1970 Did not enter - - - - - - 1974 to 1978 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1982 Round 1 3 0 1 2 2 6 1986 to 2010 Did not qualify - - - - - - Total 1/19 3 0 1 2 2 6

World Cup History Year Round Score Result 1982 Round 1 [[File:{{{flag alias-1963}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Kuwait 1 – 1  Czechoslovakia Draw Round 1 [[File:{{{flag alias-1963}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Kuwait 1 – 4  France Lose Round 1 [[File:{{{flag alias-1963}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Kuwait 0 – 1  England Lose

Asian Cup record

AFC Asian Cup record Year Round GP W D* L GS GA 1956 to 1968 Did not enter - - - - - - 1972 Round 1 2 1 0 1 2 5 1976 Runners-Up 4 3 0 1 6 3 1980 Champions 6 4 1 1 13 6 1984 Third Place 6 3 1 2 5 4 1988 Round 1 4 0 3 1 2 3 1992 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1996 Fourth place 6 2 1 3 9 6 2000 Quarter-finals 4 1 2 1 3 3 2004 Round 1 3 1 0 2 3 7 2007 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2011 Qualified Total 9/15 35 15 8 12 43 37

AFC Asian Cup History Year Round Score Result 1972 Round 1  Kuwait 2 – 0  Thailand Win Round 1  Kuwait 2 – 1  Korea Republic Win Round 1  Kuwait0 – 4 Khmer Republic Lose Year Round Score Result 1976 Round 1  Kuwait 2 – 0  Malaysia Win Round 1  Kuwait 1– 0  China PR Win SemiFinal  Kuwait 3– 2(a.e.t.) Iraq Win Final  Kuwait 0 – 1  Iran Lose Year Round Score Result 1980 Round 1  Kuwait 1 – 1 United Arab Emirates Draw Round 1  Kuwait 3 – 1  Malaysia Win Round 1  Kuwait 0 – 3  Korea Republic Lose Round 1  Kuwait 4 – 0  Qatar Win SemiFinal  Kuwait 2 – 1  Iran Win Final  Kuwait 3 – 0  Korea Republic Win Year Round Score Result 1984 Round 1  Kuwait 1 – 0  Qatar Win Round 1  Kuwait 0 – 0  Korea Republic Draw Round 1  Kuwait 3 – 1  Syria Win Round 1  Kuwait 0– 1  Saudi Arabia Lose Semifinals  Kuwait 0 – 1  China PR Lose Third place  Kuwait 1(4) – 1(3)  Iran Win* Year Round Score Result 1988 Round 1  Kuwait 0–0  Bahrain Draw Round 1  Kuwait 0–0  Saudi Arabia Draw Round 1  Kuwait 0– 1  Syria Lose Round 1  Kuwait 2–2  China PR Draw Year Round Score Result 1996 Round 1  Kuwait 2 –2  Indonesia Draw Round 1  Kuwait 2 –3  United Arab Emirates Lose Round 1  Kuwait 2 – 0  Korea Republic Win Quarterfinals  Kuwait 2– 0  Japan Win Semifinals  Kuwait 0 – 1 United Arab Emirates Lose Third place  Kuwait 1(2) – 1(3)  Iran Lose* Year Round Score Result 2000 Round 1  Kuwait 0 – 0  Indonesia Draw Round 1  Kuwait 1 –0  Korea Republic Win Round 1  Kuwait 0–0  China PR Draw Quarterfinals  Kuwait 2 –3 (a.e.t.)  Saudi Arabia Lose Year Round Score Result 2004 Round 1  Kuwait 3 –1  United Arab Emirates Win Round 1  Kuwait 0– 2  Jordan Lose Round 1  Kuwait 0 – 4  Korea Republic Lose Year Round Score Result 2011 Round 1  Kuwait –  China PR Round 1  Kuwait –  Uzbekistan Round 1  Kuwait –  Qatar

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Olympic Games record

Olympic Games Year Round GP W D L GF GA 1900 to 1956 Did not enter - - - - - - 1960 to 1976 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1980 Quarterfinals 4 1 2 1 5 4 1984 to 1988 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1992 Round 1 3 0 1 2 1 6 1996 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2000 Round 1 3 1 0 2 6 8 2004 to 2008 Did not qualify - - - - - - Total Quarterfinal 10 2 2 6 12 18

Olympic Games History Year Round Score Result 1980 Round 1  Kuwait 3 – 1  Nigeria Win Round 1  Kuwait 1– 1  Colombia Draw Round 1  Kuwait 0 – 0  Czechoslovakia Draw Quarterfinals  Kuwait 1– 2  Soviet Union Lose Year Round Score Result 1992 Round 1  Kuwait 0– 2  Poland Lose Round 1  Kuwait 1 – 3  United States Lose Round 1  Kuwait 0 – 1  Italy Lose Year Round Score Result 2000 Round 1  Kuwait 2 – 3  Cameroon Lose Round 1  Kuwait 3 – 2  Czech Republic Win Round 1  Kuwait 1 – 3  United States Lose

Gulf Cup of Nations Record

• Winners: (1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1996, 1998)
• 2009 - Semi Finals

Year	Host Country	Place
1970	Bahrain	Champion
1972	Saudi Arabia	Champion
1974	Kuwait	Champion
1976	Qatar	Champion
1979	Iraq	Runners Up
1982	U.A.E.	Champion
1984	Oman	6th place
1986	Bahrain	Champion
1988	Saudi Arabia	5th place
1990	Kuwait	Champion
1992	Qatar	5th place
1994	U.A.E.	5th place
1996	Oman	Champion
1998	Bahrain	Champion
2002	Saudi Arabia	4th place
2003	Kuwait	6th place
2004	Qatar	4th place
2007	U.A.E.	1st Round
2009	Oman	SemiFinal

Coaches

Years	Name	Nationality
1955	Ali Othman
1957	Ahmed Abu Taha
1958	Edmund Majewski
1962	Ljubiša Broćić
1964	Mohammed Abdu Saleh Al Wahsh
1966-1969	Dimitri Tadic
1970	Taha Al Touki
1971-1973	Ljubiša Broćić
1973	Hassen Nasser
1973-1975	Ljubiša Broćić
1976-1978	Mário Zagallo
1978	Saleh Zakereya
1978-1983	Carlos Alberto Parreira
1983-1985	Antônio Lopes
1985-1986	Malcolm Allison
1986	Saleh Zakaria
1986-1987	György Mezey
1987-1988	António Vieira
1988	George Armstrong
1989	Miguel Pereira
1989-1990	Otacílio
1990	Luiz Felipe Scolari
1990	Mohammed Karam
1990-1992	Valmir Louruz
1992-1993	Paulo Luiz Campos
1993	Gildo Rodríguez
1993	Jawad Maqseed
1993-1996	Valeriy Lobanovskyi
1996-1999	Milan Máčala
1999-Feb 2001	Dušan Uhrin
Aug 2001-2002	Berti Vogts
2002-2003	Radojko Avramović
2003-2004	Paulo César Carpegiani
2004	Mohammed Ibrahem
2005	Slobodan Pavković
2005	Mohammed Ibrahem
2005-2006	Mihai Stoichiţă
2006-2007	Saleh Zakaria
2007-June 2008	Rodion Gačanin
June 2008-January 2009	Mohammed Ibrahem
Feb 2009-present	Goran Tufegdžić

Players

Most capped Kuwaiti players

As of January 25, 2009, the four players with the most caps for Kuwait are:

Current squad

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Shehab Kankoni April 28, 1981 6 0 Kazma 2 DF Yacoub Al Taher October 27, 1983 Al-Kuwait 3 MF Mohamed Jarragh November 10, 1981 39 9 Al-Arabi 4 DF Hussain Fadel October 9, 1984 Al-Qadisiya 5 DF Ali Maqseed December 11, 1986 12 3 Al-Arabi 6 DF Mohammad Sinad July 1, 1987 Al-Qadisiya 7 FW Fahad Al Rashidi December 31, 1984 13 4 Al Salmiya 8 MF Saleh Al Sheikh May 29, 1982 Al-Qadisiya 9 FW Ahmad Ajab May 13, 1984 14 15 Al-Qadisiya 10 FW Khalaf Salama July 25, 1979 Al-Qadisiya 11 DF Fayez Bandar December 7, 1983 9 1 Al-Qadisiya 12 GK Ahmed Al Fadhli September 6, 1982 Kazma 13 DF Musaed Neda July 8, 1983 Al-Qadisiya 14 MF Adel Al Shammari June 20, 1986 Al-Qadisiya 15 MF Waleed Ali Jumah November 3, 1980 Al-Kuwait 16 FW Hamad Al Enezi October 5, 1986 Al-Qadisiya 17 MF Bader Al Mutwa January 10, 1985 Al-Qadisiya 18 MF Jarah Al Ataiqi October 15, 1981 Al-Kuwait

Recent Call Ups

The following players were called up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification in 2008.

Name Abdullah Al-Buraiki	DOB	Club Al-Salmiya	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call Up
Goalkeepers
Khaled Al Fadhli	May 15, 1974 (age 34)	Al-Kuwait	N/A	v Syria, June 2, 2008
Nawaf Al Khaldi	May 25, 1981 (age 27)	Al-Qadisiya	N/A	v Syria, June 8, 2008
Defenders
Nohayer Al Shammari	July 12, 1976 (age 32)	Al-Qadisiya	N/A	v UAE, February 6, 2008
Ahmad Al Eidan	October 1, 1982 (age 25)	Al-Salmiya	N/A	v UAE, February 6, 2008
Yousef Al Youha	September 2, 1979 (age 28)	Al-Kuwait	N/A	v UAE, February 6, 2008
Fahad Shaheen	February 26, 1985 (age 23)	Al-Kuwait	N/A	v Syria, June 8, 2008
Khaled Al Shammari	January 2, 1977 (age 31)	Kazma	N/A	v Syria, June 8, 2008
Midfielders
Abdulrahman Mussa	December 4, 1981 (age 26)	Al-Qadisiya	N/A	v UAE, February 6, 2008
Ebraheem Shehab	January 20, 1986 (age 22)	Al-Kuwait	N/A	v Iran, March 26, 2008
Strikers
Bader Al Mutwa	January 10, 1985 (age 23)	Al-Qadisiya	N/A	v Iran, March 26, 2008
Fahad Al Hamad	December 1, 1983 (age 24)	Kazma	N/A	v UAE, February 6, 2008

Previous squads

• 2004 AFC Asian Cup squads - Kuwait
• 2000 AFC Asian Cup squads - Kuwait
• 1996 AFC Asian Cup squads - Kuwait
• 1982 FIFA World Cup squads - Kuwait

Records versus other nations

As of 2009-12-28

Nation	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD
Algeria	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1
Armenia	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
Australia	9	5	1	3	9	6	+3
Azerbaijan	2	0	2	0	2	2	0
Bahrain	32	16	8	8	42	27	+15
Bangladesh	2	2	0	0	6	1	+5
Bhutan	1	1	0	0	20	0	+20
Bulgaria	4	0	2	2	5	8	-3
Cambodia	1	0	0	1	0	4	-4
China PR	16	5	5	6	15	18	-3
Côte d'Ivoire	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2
Cyprus	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Czech Republic	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1
Ecuador	1	0	0	1	0	3	-3
Egypt	7	1	3	3	8	10	-2
England	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1
Finland	6	1	2	3	4	6	-2
France	2	0	0	2	1	5	-4
Germany	1	0	0	1	0	7	-7
Hong Kong	7	6	1	0	18	4	+14
Iceland	7	1	4	2	3	4	-1
India	2	1	0	1	8	4	+4
Indonesia	6	2	3	1	11	6	+5
Iran	27	6	9	12	26	34	-8
Iraq	23	5	6	12	23	35	-12
Japan	5	4	0	1	8	2	+6
Jordan	11	7	2	2	20	9	+11
Kazakhstan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Kenya	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5
Kyrgyzstan	3	3	0	0	8	0	+8
Latvia	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2
Lebanon	20	10	5	5	34	25	+9
Libya	3	0	2	1	3	6	-3
Lithuania	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Macau	2	2	0	0	18	1	+17
Malaysia	12	8	2	2	29	8	+21
Mali	3	3	0	0	14	4	+10
Mongolia	1	1	0	0	11	0	+11
Morocco	4	0	0	4	1	10	-9
Myanmar	4	3	0	1	12	5	+7
Nepal	4	4	0	0	21	0	+21
New Zealand	3	1	1	1	5	8	-3
Korea DPR	8	3	4	1	12	7	+5
Korea Republic	20	9	2	9	20	25	-5
Norway	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1
Oman	22	11	8	3	44	13	+31
Pakistan	3	3	0	0	6	0	+6
Palestine	3	2	1	0	9	4	+5
Poland	2	0	1	1	1	3	-2
Portugal	2	0	1	1	1	9	-8
Qatar	35	17	6	12	54	34	+20
Saudi Arabia	33	10	11	12	37	37	0
Singapore	9	6	2	1	18	6	+12
Slovakia	2	0	1	1	1	3	-2
South Vietnam	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
Sudan	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Syria	28	11	7	10	41	32	+9
Tajikistan	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3
Thailand	8	5	0	3	22	12	+10
Trinidad and Tobago	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Tunisia	2	0	0	2	1	4	-3
Turkmenistan	4	3	1	0	12	3	+9
Uganda	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
United Arab Emirates	34	14	7	13	61	37	+24
United States	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2
Uzbekistan	3	1	1	1	7	7	0
Vietnam	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1
Wales	2	0	2	0	0	0	0
Yemen	7	5	2	0	18	2	+16
Zambia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3
Totals	471	204	117	150	766	512	+254

References

External links

• Official Kuwait Football Site
• Official Fans Forum Site

Titles

Preceded by 1976 Iran

Asian Champions 1980 (First title)

Succeeded by 1984 Saudi Arabia

Kuwait squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup 1 Al‑Tarabilsi • 2 N. Mubarak • 3 M. Mubarak • 4 Al‑Qabendi • 5 W. Mubarak • 6 Al‑Houti • 7 Kamel • 8 Al‑Buloushi • 9 Yacob • 10 Al‑Anberi • 11 Al‑Ghanim • 12 Al‑Suwayed • 13 Marzouq • 14 Mayouf • 15 Al‑Hashash • 16 Al‑Dakhil • 17 Al‑Shemmari • 18 Karam • 19 Rahyam Aliyan • 20 Al‑Buloushi • 21 Marjam • 22 Bahman • Coach: Parreira

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