Another Win Slips Away from the Kuwait National Team

The Kuwait national team and their Jordanian visitors ended their match in a 1-1 draw at the Jaber International Stadium in the sixth round of Group B in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. 

This result marks Kuwait’s fourth draw, keeping them winless in the final stage of the qualifiers, and adding a point to their tally, now standing at 4 points. They remain in fifth place. Meanwhile, Jordan, with 9 points, lost their second-place spot to Iraq (11 points) after Iraq secured a 1-0 win over Oman, with a goal by Youssef Amin (36′).

Kuwait had an opportunity to secure their first win but couldn’t capitalize on their strong second-half performance, where they created several chances but failed to convert. 

Jordan took the lead in the first half thanks to Yazan Al-Naimat (21′), who scored after exploiting a mistake by Youssef Majed, dribbling past Sultan Al-Anzi and placing the ball skillfully into the net.

In the second half, Kuwait came alive and pressured Jordan for the equalizer, which they found through Mohammed Dhamam (68′), whose long-range shot was mishandled by substitute goalkeeper Abdullah Fakhouri, allowing the ball to slip beneath him and into the net. 

Despite continued pressure from Kuwait, including several more chances, they couldn’t find a winner. Jordan, meanwhile, failed to regain the lead in the dying minutes.

Noteworthy Draw for Palestine

Palestine earned their third point in the group after holding South Korea to a 1-1 draw in Amman, Jordan. 

The Palestinian team was missing several key players, including Wissam Abu Ali, but still managed to surprise the South Koreans early on. Zaid Qanbar intercepted a poor pass and fired into an empty net to give Palestine a 1-0 lead (12′).

South Korea responded quickly, with Son Heung-min (16′) leveling the score after a breakaway and a curling shot into the left side of the net. Despite this, the draw kept South Korea atop the group with 14 points.

The UAE’s Biggest Victory

In Group A, Iran remained at the top with 16 points after a 3-2 win over Kyrgyzstan, while Uzbekistan secured their fourth win, defeating North Korea 1-0.

Uzbekistan now has 13 points in second place, while North Korea remains at the bottom with just 2 points.

Fabio Lima led the UAE to a massive 5-0 victory over Qatar, scoring four goals in what became the biggest win over their Gulf neighbor in Abu Dhabi.

Lima’s “super hat-trick” came in the 4th minute, from a penalty in the 45th minute, 45+5, and a second penalty in the 56th minute, while Yahya Al-Ghesani added the fifth goal for the winners in the 73rd minute.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s struggles in Group C continued after they were defeated 2-0 by Indonesia in Jakarta.

This loss dropped Saudi Arabia to sixth place with 6 points, one point behind Australia, who drew with Bahrain 2-2, and with a worse goal difference than Indonesia. Japan, the group leaders with 16 points, maintained their perfect run toward qualifying for their eighth consecutive World Cup, adding another three points to their total with a 1-3 win over China.

Bahrain nearly secured a win over Australia after two goals from Mahdi Abd Al-Jaber (75 and 77), following Australia’s early lead via Kosei Yengi (1′). However, Yengi came back to score in the dying moments of the game (90+6), securing a 2-2 draw for the Australians