Kuwait is just about the only Asian team which has a winning record against Korea. This is no accident as Kuwait was top of Asia once. But in the recent AC, Korea beat Kuwait 4:0. I am curious. Can someone knowledgeable in Arab soccer explain the rise and fall of Kuwait. How did they rise to the top of Asian soccer once?
Iran had won the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Asian cups in a row and was the favorite to win the 1980 Asian cup. But 1980 Asian cup was being held in Kuwait when just 12 hours before the Iran-Kuwait semi-final, Iraqis invaded Iran. With the Iranian players' mind on the outbreak of the war back home, Kuwait went on to win that game 2-1 in extra time and move on to the final where they also defeated Korea and won 1980 Asian cup. Kuwaitis had became the first Arab team to defeat Iran and win an Asian cup ever. They later qualified for the 1982 world cup and established themselves as a new powerhouse in Asian football. But the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait had a very negative effect on their soccer and they have been a struggling team even since. Kuwait's golden era was the 80's and to their credit, unlike most gulf teams, they play fair and clean soccer
You know Mani, you remind me of Walter in The Big Lebowski . Whatever the topic of conversation, he'll always manage somehow to turn it about Vietnam. Same with you and Iran.
It's very related my friend! That's how Kuwait's glory in 80's started; by narrowly beating the defending three-time Asian cup champions Iran
lool But seriously, if you look at Kuwait's football record, what you notice is that they have little bursts at the top, then settle down at mid level. I think that's down to the fact with Kuwait being such a small country, it relies on a small pool of players. Every once in a while, they get an outstanding bunch, but they don't have a consistent supply. So in the early 80s they had a good crop of players, and they briefly shined in 80 and 82, but by 84 they already begun to fade so that by 86 they didn't make it past the first round of WCQ (same in 90), and by 1988 they didn't come out of the group stage of the AC (in 92 they didn't make it at all). They then had a good crop in the mid 90s, and now again they're in decline, and repeat the cycle. They are due a good batch right now.
Bottom line, like Hijazzey said, they are little in size with relatively minute resources to pick from for a national team, yet they have managed to create a rivalry with the Saudis! thats pretty damn impressive for a lil country like Kuwait if you ask me.
Thanks for *all* your replies. I am getting the picture. Do you know what is more amazing? They have winning record againstKorea leading up to the last AC where Korea finally blew them out with 4:0 score. The only Asian team that comes close to Kuwait is Iran which has a even record against Korea.
With all respect, beating korea is not realy considerd amazing. I know the have a great team, but amazing is more like what korea did in WC2002 by beating THE big boys.
Saudi Arabia's batch of good players were the ones who won the 1988 U-17 world cup and made it to the last 16 of the 1994 world cup. You'd have to wait a few years or so for another batch of good players to come along. For now, I see a very difficult road ahead for the Saudis in the final round of the Asian WCQ.
it was the 1989 world cup in scotland...but the 1994 team contained only one member from that youth squad....super goalie Al Daeyea. Im not worried at all about the WCQ its the world cup itslef that im worried back to kuwait....the Kuwait squad of 1996-1999 was awesome and very very underrated especially the Jassim Al Huwaidy and Bahsar Abdullah attacking force, I remember how they won the 1998 Gulf cup with something like 20+ goals
Korea and Kuwait were tied leading up to the 90's. We accumulated 3 losses during 94-96(2 during Hiroshima Asian Games). They are not the only one. Saudis are also even with Korea(3-3-4). But Koreans have a positive goal differential(+2).(vs Iran +3) There is another country(I forget the name) whose recored is 1-0 vs Korea. And currently we are tied with maldive too(1 draw).
No they weren't. The full record (from the KFA website): 0-0-1 (72/5/12) 0-0-2 (74/9/6) 1-0-2 (77/10/9) 1-1-2 (77/11/5) 2-1-2 (78/12/13) 3-1-2 (80/9/21) 3-1-3 (80/9/30) <--- when Korea & Kuwait's record was "tied" 3-1-4 (81/4/29) <--- when Kuwait moved ahead 3-2-4 (84/17/4) 3-3-4 (84/5/12) <--- the last match in the 80s 4-3-4 (90/10/1) <--- the first match in the 90s, when the record was "tied" again 4-3-5 (94/10/7) 4-3-6 (94/10/15) 4-3-7 (96/12/10) 5-3-7 (98/12/11) 5-3-8 (00/10/16) 6-3-8 (04/07/27) Kuwait had a winning record in matches against Korea "leading up to the 90s". Korea did however tie that record during the first match of the 1990s.
Let me clarify. It is amazing for an *Asian* team to have a winning record against Korea. According to Wargamer in previous post, there is only one team now (1-0) with winning record against Korea.
Turkmenistan, I believe. A 3-2 win in the 1998 Asian Games (Choi Yong-soo scored both Korea's goals). Syria have a level record, with one win and one defeat.
Korea and Kuwait were tied leading up to the 90's. We accumulated 3 losses during 94-96(2 during Hiroshima Asian Games). They are not the only one. Saudis are also even with Korea(3-3-4). But Koreans have a positive goal differential(+2).(vs Iran +3) There is another country(I forget the name) whose recored is 1-0 vs Korea. And currently we are tied with maldive too(1 draw).
Yeah the players we have right now are pretty good. Injuries, young ages, and bad coaches have affected them IMO. Look at Yasser Gahtani and Almontashri, they will be one of the best players in the Saudi history, they are still 22 years old. If Nawaf AlTemyat could come back soon, him and Nour would make an awesome midfield. Just need to wait and see.
I don't think it's as much the case with Saudi. If it is, the effects are much less pronounced. The Saudi team has been a fairly consistent performer through the years. Our current crisis is unusual in that sense. IMO I think our administration and management problems through the years have finaly cought up with us, rather than a lack of talent available is the reason why Saudi football is in such a bad state. Like Saudi64, I believe we have a good bunch of players.
Yeah administration and coaching in here suck. We are repeating the same problem like in 02! Naser AlGohar is coaching us, where is the 'new experienced coach' they said they will bring. Stupid administration, just washing our players talent in the drain.