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Kuwait play host to Iraq at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Group B of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday. Having failed to win the last four meetings between the two nations, Juan Antonio Pizzi’s men will head into the midweek clash aiming to get one over the visitors and secure their first win of the campaign.
Kuwait turned in a resilient team display in their Group B curtain-raiser as they fought back from behind to snatch a 1-1 draw against Jordan at the Amman International Stadium last Thursday.
This followed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Afghanistan on June 11 which saw Pizzi’s men snap their run of five back-to-back games without a win across all competitions.
Kuwait enjoyed a decent run of results in the World Cup second qualifying round, where they finished second in Group A with seven points from six matches.
Iraq, on the other hand, kicked off the third qualifying round on a positive note as they picked up a 1-0 victory over Oman in their group opener last Thursday.
Aymen Hussein grabbed the headlines at the Basra International Stadium as he netted the only goal of the game to hand Jesus Garcia’s men an opening-day victory.
This was in keeping with their blistering run of results in the second round, where Iraq picked up six wins from their six matches to finish eight points clear at the top of Group F.
Kuwait vs Iraq Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- With 13 wins from the last 31 meetings between the sides, Iraq boast a superior record in the history of this fixture.
- Kuwait have picked up nine wins in that time, while the spoils have been shared on nine occasions.
- Iraq are on a four-game unbeaten run against Pizzi’s men, picking up two wins and two draws since a 1-0 loss in November 2014.
- Kuwait have failed to win six of their seven matches across all competitions in 2024, losing four and claiming two draws since the turn of the year.
Kuwait vs Iraq Prediction
Looking at recent meetings between Kuwait and Iraq, we expect a thrilling contest at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium with plenty of goalmouth action.
Garcia’s men are slightly superior on paper and we fancy them to secure all three points, albeit by the odd goal.
Prediction: Kuwait 1-2 Iraq
Kuwait vs Iraq Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Iraq to win
Tip 2: First to score - Iraq (The visitors have opened the scoring in their last five matches)
Tip 3: Over 4.5 cards - No (There have been fewer than five bookings in seven of the last eight meetings between the two nations)
