Kuwait's team coach: Thursday's showdown with Qatar will be difficult

Rui Bento, Kuwait's national team coach, affirmed on Wednesday the difficulty of facing Qatar's experienced and technical national team on Thursday. This came in a press conference ahead of the match, which is set to be played at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, this is the third match of the first group in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and 2027 Asian Football Cup (AFC). The preparations already took place, Bento added, the team had a successful training camp in Abu Dhabi focusing on technical game play like keeping possession, "who keeps the ball scores the goals" Bento said. The Kuwaiti player Faisal Zayed confirmed the preparedness of the team to play against the AFC champions adding that the players are ready to apply the coach's instructions on the pitch. On the other hand, Qatar's national team coach Marquez Lopez said that the team is ready to play tomorrow despite the short window for preparation. He said that the team is quite motivated for the new challenge following their winning of the 2023 AFC Qatar, attributing the success to every member of the team. The second leg of the match will be held in Kuwait next Tuesday. Qatar currently sits at the top of the group with six points, followed by Kuwait with three points, India in third, and Afghanistan in fourth. In accordance with the AFC guidelines, the first and second place of each of the nine groups comprised of 36 teams, will advance to the third stage 18 teams, who will play in the 2027 AFC in Saudi Arabia.