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KUWAIT CITY, June 29: The Football Association is currently reviewing the biographies of several coaches from different backgrounds to select a new head coach for the Blues, replacing the current Portuguese head coach, Rui Pinto.
Among the top candidates are Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, Argentine Hector Cuper, Iraqi Adnan Hamad, Egyptian Hossam El-Badry, and Algerian Jamal Belmadi.
The decision to seek a new coach stems from the Blues’ underwhelming performance in the joint Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.
The Association believes that Rui Pinto has not made a significant impact on Kuwait’s performance since taking over two years ago, delivering modest results in both friendly and official matches. Despite qualifying for the Asian Cup finals and advancing to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers, critics argue that Pinto’s tenure was marked by struggles, particularly in a group that included India, Afghanistan, and Qatar.
Under Pinto’s leadership, Kuwait managed only two victories against Afghanistan (4-0 and 1-0), while suffering a defeat (0-1) and a draw (0-0) against India, and losing twice to Qatar (0-3 and 1-2). Among the five coaches, Cuper and Belmadi appear to be the frontrunners to lead Al-Azraq, while Queiroz, El-Badry, and Hamad are also being considered. The new coach is expected to be announced within the next two days.
The Association hopes that the team will perform impressively in the third round of the World Cup qualifiers, placed in a balanced group with South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, and Palestine, and make a significant impact, especially since they haven’t reached this stage in 19 years.
Meanwhile, the regular general assembly of the Kuwait Football Association will take place this evening in the conference hall at the Federation’s headquarters in Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium.
Khaled El Anzi
Al-Seyassah/ Arab Times Staff
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