Sosa names 26-man Kuwait squad for Thailand friendly

Ali Hassan among the standout players joining Al-Azraq squad.

KUWAIT CITY, May 30: Kuwait leaves this morning for Bangkok to begin a training camp that will include a friendly match against Thailand next Wednesday, as part of preparations for upcoming competitions.

The camp is part of Kuwait’s build-up to the Gulf Cup “Gulf 27” in September and the AFC Asian Cup scheduled for January in Saudi Arabia.

Head coach Helio Sosa has named a 26-player squad for the June international window camp.

Originally, Kuwait was also set to face Oman on June 9, but the fixture was cancelled after Oman withdrew due to being drawn in the same group as Kuwait in both the Gulf Cup and Asian Cup.

The squad features Saud Al-Houshan, Khaled Al-Rashidi, Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, Mahdi Dashti, Fahad Al-Hajri, Rashid Al-Dosari, Khaled Sabah, Jasem Al-Matar, Redha Hani, Youssef Al-Haqan, Abdulwahab Al-Owaidi, Abdullah Al-Qarza’i, Ali Hassan, Nasser Falih, Montaser Abdul Salam, Muath Al-Dhafiri, Fawaz Al-Mubaylish, Bandar Al-Barazi, Khaled Al-Murshid, Shabib Al-Khaldi, Youssef Nasser, Mohammed Dahham, Youssef Majed, Mohammed Khaled, and Eid Al-Rashidi.

Sosa has also included several young players who impressed in recent performances, rewarding them with places in the squad. They include Abdullah Al-Owaidi, Abdullah Al-Qarza’i, Youssef Al-Haqan, Ali Hassan, and Bandar Al-Barazi.

The list also sees the return of several players who were previously absent from national team selections, including Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, Mahdi Dashti, Jasem Al-Matar, Montaser Abdul Salam, Fawaz Al-Mubaylish, and Mohammed Khaled.

Meanwhile, several established names from previous squads—particularly those involved in last year’s Arab Cup in Qatar—have been left out, including Suleiman Abdulghafour, Ahmed Al-Dhafiri, Sultan Al-Anzi, Fawaz Ayed, Hassan Hamdan, Adhbi Shihab, Mohammed Al-Sharifi, and Muath Al-Asima.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff