Sousa builds for the future as Kuwait hosts Syria

Kuwait finalizes training session for the friendly.

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 12: Kuwait faces Syria at 7:30 pm on Friday at Al-Sadaqa Wal-Salam Stadium in an international friendly as both sides make use of the current FIFA international break.

The Blues launched their preparations last Monday under Portuguese coach Hélio Sousa, who called up 30 players for the training camp as part of his efforts to assess a wider pool of talent.

The squad includes Khaled Al-Rashidi, Dhari Al-Otaibi, Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, Fahad Al-Hajri, Khaled Sabah, Abdulwahab Al-Awadi, Rashid Al-Dosari, Abdulaziz Naji, Waleed Saad, Muath Al-Dhafiri, Saleh Al-Mutahab, Hamoud Al-Sanousi, Abdullah Al-Saeedi, Abdullah Al-Qurazai, Nasser Faleh, Ahmad Al-Dhafiri, Mohammed Al-Huwaidi, Jassim Al-Matar, Mahdi Dashti, Muath Al-Asayma, Bandar Al-Salama, Mubarak Al-Fanini, Eid Al-Rashidi, Shabeeb Al-Khaldi, Yousef Nasser, Abdullah Al-Awadi, Abdulrahman Al-Rashidi, Mohammed Daham and Yousef Majed.

Mohammed Daham has left the camp due to injury, while Fahad Al-Hajri withdrew for personal reasons. Mohammed Al-Huwaidi will also be unavailable for tonight’s encounter because of an injury.

Despite the postponement of the Asian Cup from its original January schedule to December 2027, Sousa and his technical staff have drawn up an extensive preparation plan for the coming period. It includes local and overseas training camps and friendly matches during the next international windows in March and June 2027, leading up to the 2030 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which are scheduled to begin in August.

The expanded squad reflects Sousa’s intention to assess as many players as possible and provide opportunities for emerging talents. Among the younger players called up are Ali Hassan, Waleed Saad, Abdullah Al-Qurazai, Abdulrahman Al-Rashidi, Saleh Al-Mutahab, Abdullah Al-Saeedi and Hamoud Al-Sanousi. Saad, Al-Saeedi, and Al-Mutahab are receiving their first call-ups to the senior national team.

The camp has also seen the return of several players who were absent from previous selections, including Al-Huwaidi, Al-Salama, Al-Fanini, Al-Otaibi and Dashti.

Sousa is keen to give the younger players valuable exposure and help them establish themselves by working alongside experienced internationals such as Ahmad Al-Dhafiri, Khaled Al-Rashidi, Yousef Nasser, Eid Al-Rashidi, Rashid Al-Dosari and Nasser Faleh.

Meanwhile, Syria’s Spanish coach José Lana has named a 23-man squad for the friendly. The selection features Elias Hadaya, Khaled Ibrahim, Shaher Al-Shaker, Aiham Ousou, Abdullah Al-Shami, Abdulrazak Mohammed, Ahmad Faqa, Khaled Kurdghli, Wissam Dakhan, Zakaria Hanan, Mohammed Othman, Elmar Abraham, Mohammed Al-Hallaq, Noah Shamoun, Mahmoud Al-Aswad, Ahmad Al-Dali, Jan Mustafa, Omar Al-Somah, Omar Khribin, Mahmoud Daoud, Ziad Ghanoum, Mohammed Mustafa and George Younan.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff