Sheikh Ahmed Al-Yousef Al-Sabah, President of the Kuwaiti Football Association, confirmed that his country’s national team is looking forward to achieving a positive result against its Saudi counterpart, at the opening of the Arabian Gulf Cup competitions, “Gulf 27”, stressing that “Al-Azraq” did not come to Jeddah simply to participate, but rather to compete and present a level befitting the history of Kuwaiti football.
Speaking to the media before the confrontation, Al-Youssef said: “I am very happy to be in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, specifically in the city of Jeddah, especially with the Saudi National Day celebrations, and we wish the Kingdom continued joys and celebrations.”
He added: “Tomorrow we are waiting for an important opening match between two major teams, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. We wish success to the two teams, and that we will watch a strong and exciting match, and we will congratulate the winner at the end of it.”
Regarding his expectations for the confrontation scenario, he said: “There are no expectations, and as I mentioned in my meetings with the Gulf media, we did not come to Jeddah just to participate or visit. We have visited the Kingdom many times, but rather we came to play and achieve a positive result for the Kuwaiti team, especially since most of our players are new elements, and we have about 13 to 14 young players.”
Regarding the absence of the Kuwaiti team from winning the Gulf title since 2010, Al-Yousef explained: “Everyone knows the crises and problems that Kuwaiti sports went through, and the suspension it was subjected to for 3 periods, which affected the future of Kuwaiti sports, especially the participation of the Sunni groups.”
He continued: “We are currently working on preparing a strong team, and we look forward to it starting its new phase by facing Saudi Arabia and participating in this tournament. We hope that the current generation will be a promising generation that carries the name of the Kuwaiti team.”
Regarding the main thing that the Kuwaiti team fears in the opening confrontation, he said: “We are not afraid of anything, as we are here in the Kingdom, and we will play a match against our brothers in the Saudi team, and our fans will meet their fellow Saudi fans, so there is nothing to fear.”
Al-Youssef revealed his message to the players during his meeting with them before the confrontation, saying: “I assured them that we came to play a match against our Saudi brothers, and we must present a strong match from both the technical and tactical standpoints, and the result in the end is with the grace of God Almighty.”
Regarding how to avoid the mistakes that occurred in the Arab Championship, he explained that the coach emphasized working to overcome them during the Gulf Championship.
In response to a question about whether the Gulf Cup competitions are still played outside the field more than on it, Al-Yousef said jokingly: “Currently, you are the ones who play the most. You, the journalists, are the ones who raise the profile of the Gulf Cup and make it more than an international tournament.”
Regarding the public attendance, he said: “We have 3 planes carrying Kuwaiti fans, and God willing, we will see.”
Al-Youssef concluded his speech: “The Saudi national team is coming from a World Cup participation, and it has its name and history, and, God willing, we will present a great match.”
Saudi Nayef Al-Falih qualified for the semi-finals of the “Gran Turismo 7” competition, while Amjad Al-Qarni and Abdulaziz Al-Juhani reserved their places in the quarter-finals of “e-Football”, on a day that also witnessed swimmer Rami Al-Rahmouni breaking the Saudi record for the 1,500-meter (freestyle) race, within the competitions of the 20th Asian Games “Nagoya 2026”.
Al-Falih qualified for the semi-finals, scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, after finishing the time trial in second place with a time of 2:11.784 minutes.
In "eFootball", Al-Qarni and Al-Juhani reached the quarter-finals, scheduled for nine o'clock on Wednesday morning, after their victory in the group stage over Qatar and South Korea with a score of 2-0, and their loss to Iran with the same score.
E-sports competitions also witness the participation of Badr Al-Omair in “King of Fighter 15,” Osama Al-Hujaili in “Street Fighter 6,” and Shaman Al-Zaaqi in “Tekken 8.”
In swimming, 17-year-old Rami Al-Rahmouni set a new Saudi record in the 1,500-meter (freestyle) race, after finishing fourth overall with a time of 14:55.32 minutes, surpassing the previous national record of 16:32.64 minutes.
In shooting, Saud bin Al-Hassan, Saeed Al-Mutairi and Fahd Al-Harbi finished the second day of the three-day competition in the individual and team skeet competition.
Saud bin Al-Hassan collected 90 dishes to occupy 25th place in the overall standings, while Al-Mutairi collected 88 dishes in 31st place, and Al-Harbi collected 83 dishes in 41st place. The trio will play the third and final round at 11 a.m. on Wednesday in search of qualification to the final.
The Saudi fencing team will open its participation at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the Sky Expo Hall in Nagoya, with the participation of Adel Al-Mutairi and Fayyad Al-Obaid in the individual cyber competitions, which begin with the group stage and conclude with the final at 6 p.m.
In boxing, Ziad Majrashi begins his participation at 12 noon on Wednesday, facing his opponent from Hong Kong in the round of 32 in the 60 kg category.
As for squash, Mohammed Al-Nisfan marks the second historical appearance for Saudi Arabia in the game’s competitions at the Asian Games, when he faces Chinese Pinglin Zhou in the round of 32 at 3:30 pm in the “Nagoya Arena.”
Al-Nassfan is the youngest player in the competition at 18 years old, while the first Saudi participation in squash in the Asian Games dates back to the 2010 Guangzhou edition.
In karate, Sanad Sufyani and the presence of Miyajan conclude the Saudi participation in the kumite competitions on Wednesday, as Jud faces her competitor from Mongolia at 12 noon in the 50 kg weight, while Sufyani faces his Thai competitor at 1:30 pm in the 84 kg weight.
In football, the Italian Luigi Di Biagio, coach of the Saudi national team, expressed his pride in the technical level presented by his players against South Korea, stressing that the loss does not negate the effort made by the team in the match.
Di Biagio said, in an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, that the Saudi national team faced a strong competitor at the continental level that included three players who participated in the 2026 World Cup, explaining that Al-Akhdar appeared in a cohesive manner during the first half, which ended in a goalless draw, before the Korean team benefited from its experience in finding spaces and scoring two goals.
He added that South Korea and Japan, the hosts of the tournament, are among the most prominent nominated teams, explaining that he recruited a number of young players and gave them the opportunity to participate in the Asian Games to gain more experience, at a time when other teams are competing with their full strength and capabilities.
Regarding the upcoming confrontation with Uzbekistan in the second round, Di Biagio explained that Uzbek football is witnessing development, and said: “It is supervised by my friend Cannavaro, who leads the first team, and he will certainly support the team and the federation in which he works.”
He added: “I look at Friday’s confrontation as a difficult match, as it comes in a short time and after less than 72 hours, and we will work to recover quickly and prepare in order to win and take a step forward.”
The Saudi team lost to South Korea, finishing second in its group in the tournament.
