With both sides still dreaming of an appearance at the 2022 World Cup finals, Kuwait and Jordan face off in their penultimate match of Group B in the AFC second round on Friday.

The hosts fell to a dismal 3-0 defeat to Australia earlier this month, whereas Jordan came back with a bang as they beat Nepal by the same scoreline.

Match preview

With a spate of FIFA suspensions now firmly in the past, Kuwait are still in with a realistic chance of qualifying for Qatar 2022, after their most recent ban from footballing activities saw them miss their opportunity to battle their continental foes for a spot in the 2018 World Cup.

Despite successive 3-0 defeats at the hands of the Australians, Kuwait have made an otherwise positive impression during their Group B venture, winning three and drawing one of their other four games while keeping a clean sheet each time.

Prior to the appointment of Andres Carrasco in late 2020, Thamer Enad's side scored nine without reply against Chinese Taipei and kept another clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Nepal, while Enad's predecessor Romeo Jozak led Kuwait to a 7-0 triumph over Nepal in their first group game.

However, they could not have got off to a worse start against Australia last time out as Hertha Berlin's Mathew Leckie opened the scoring within the first minute, while Jackson Irvine and Ajdin Hrustic also netted to condemn Carrasco's side to a painful defeat.

However, 10 points taken from a possible 18 means that Kuwait - who currently sit third - can still keep their World Cup dream alive with a second-placed finish, and with upcoming opponents Jordan only three points ahead in that spot, the onus is on Carrasco's men to rediscover their 2019 form.

In contrast, the visitors struck three goals without reply and came out on the correct end of the scoreline last time out, as they cemented their position in second place with a resounding success over Nepal.

Baha' Faisal struck his fifth and sixth goals of the qualifying period with a brace on the day - one of which came from the penalty spot - and centre-back Yazan Al-Arab put the cherry on the icing on the cake with a 67th-minute goal on Monday night.

Vital Borkelmans are still in with the slimmest of chances of usurping Australia at the top of the rankings - although the group leaders are facing a very winnable fixture versus Nepal on their penultimate matchday - but victory over Kuwait would guarantee their second-placed ranking and a potential spot in the third round of World Cup 2022 qualifying.

The first meeting between Kuwait and Jordan in World Cup qualifying Group B ended with the points shared in a goalless stalemate, but there should be no repeat of that drab affair this time around as both teams dare to dream of an appearance in Qatar.

Team News

Kuwait have no fresh injury concerns to contend with for this crunch battle, but a chastening defeat to Australia could tempt Carrasco into making a change or two, despite their eight-day rest.

The country's third-highest goalscorer of all time Bader Al-Mutawa could not make an impact from the bench last time out, but both he and Yousef Nasser - with 96 international goals between them - will hope to force their way into the XI here.

Meanwhile, Jordan have only had a four-day break in between matches, but the manner of their victory against Nepal means that Borkelmans will be reluctant to make many alterations for Friday's fixture.

The two-man frontline of Faisal and Yazan Al-Naimat worked to great effect last time out, and the duo should keep veteran forward Odai Al-Saify out of the team once more.

Kuwait possible starting lineup:
Abdulghafour; Al-Sanea, Al-Hajeri, Ebrahim, Al-Qallaf; Al-Dhefiri, Al-Ansari; Al-Rasheedi, Ayedh, Al-Fnaini; Al Mutawa

Jordan possible starting lineup:
Yaseen; Haddad, Al-Arab, Khair Alla, Al-Dameiri; Al-Tamari, Sadeh, Al-Rawabdeh, Olwan; Faisal, Al-Naimat

We say: Kuwait 1-2 Jordan

Kuwait's long break in between matches should serve them well ahead of this pivotal encounter, and Carrasco would have welcomed the chance to analyse where things went wrong in their humbling against Australia.

Jordan are the ones with the wind in their sails, though, and while this game should be as tight as the table, we anticipate a narrow success for the visitors en route to a second-placed finish.

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