The U-23 delegation pose for a group photo before departing to Cairo for the training camp.

CAIRO, July 7: Kuwait’s U-23 Olympic football team began its training camp in the Egyptian capital as part of its preparations for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, scheduled to take place in January 2026 in Saudi Arabia.

The Blues arrived in Cairo earlier in the day and launched their training program under the guidance of Croatian head coach Dario Pesic and his assistant Mohammed Al-Fulaikawi. The camp aims to boost player fitness and team cohesion ahead of the upcoming qualifiers.

Kuwait will compete in Group B of the qualifiers, which includes Japan, Afghanistan, and host nation Myanmar. The group matches will take place from September 1 to 9.

Pesic has named a 29-player squad, drawing talent from several domestic clubs:

Al-Qadsiya: Jassim Al-Matar, Abdullah Al-Ghaniman, Ahmed Bodi, Mohammed Al-Sharifi

Al-Arabi: Abdullah Musa, Abdulredha Shehab, Bader Al-Mutairi, Yousef Majed, Hussein Al-Aryan

Kuwait Club: Mohammed Al-Kandari, Omar Al-Matar, Khaled Al-Kharqawi, Mohammed Al-Suraie

Kazma: Saleh Al-Muhattab, Jarrah Al-Hilali, Salem Al-Khatlan, Omar Al-Saleem, Montaser Abdulsalam, Omar Al-Azmi, Hussein Shehab

Al-Nasr: Abdulrahman Al-Rashidi, Ali Jabr, Nasser Al-Enezi, Bandar Al-Barazi

Al-Tadamon: Abdulrahman Al-Harbi

Al-Jahra: Jassim Al-Enezi, Adel Al-Shammari

Al-Sahel: Dhari Al-Masri

Al-Salmiya: Moaz Al-Asima

Al-Shabab: Munir Al-Subaie

As part of the camp, the team will play four friendly matches, including two against the Egyptian national team on July 17 and 20, and two others against ENPPI and Malia Kafr El-Zayat on dates to be confirmed.

The coaching staff is focused on elevating the readiness of both seasoned and newly selected players. Building team chemistry and integrating fresh talent are central to their strategy, with the ultimate goal of advancing to the tournament finals.

Following the Cairo camp, the team will return to Kuwait for continued daily training sessions before heading to an East Asian country in August for a second training camp. From there, they will travel directly to Myanmar one week ahead of their group stage matches to acclimate to local conditions.

According to tournament regulations, the top team in each of the ten qualifying groups, along with the five best second-placed teams, will advance to the final tournament, joining host Saudi Arabia. The 16 qualified teams will be divided into four groups for the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff