FACTBOX-Soccer-Profile on Kuwait team for 2015 Asian Cup

Reuters

Jan 1 (Reuters) - Factbox on Asian Cup qualifiers Kuwait: Asian Cup record: Previous appearances in finals: (9) 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2011. Best performance: Winners 1980 Drawn in Group A with Australia, South Korea and Oman. - - - Coach: Nabil Maaloul Former Tunisian international Maaloul took on the Kuwait job scarcely a month out from the start of the tournament after his predecessor, Brazilian Jorvan Vieira, was sacked in the wake of the team's disappointing Gulf Cup of Nations. Maaloul also coached Tunisia for less than a year, quitting after the team suffered a shock loss to Cape Verde Islands last year to miss out on qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil. - - - Key player: Bader Al-Mutawa. Age: 29. Midfielder. A member of the 2004 and 2011 Asian Cup teams, Al-Mutawa has been a Kuwait stalwart since his teen years, debuting in the 2003 Gulf Nations Cup and earning over 100 caps since. His stunning equaliser in the 2-2 draw against United Arab Emirates, a 25-metre rocket from outside the area, was a reminder of the threat he poses. - - - FIFA world ranking Dec. 2014: 124 How they qualified: Second in Group B qualifying behind Iran with two wins, one loss and three draws. Squad: Khaled Al-Rashidi (Salmia SC), Amer Almatoug Alfadhel (Qadsia SC), Fahad Awad Shaheen (Kuwait SC), Ali Hussain Fadhel (Al Wahda, UAE), Fahad Alhajeri (Salmia SC), Khaled Alqahtani (Qadsia SC), Talal Alfadhel (Kazma SC), Saleh Sheikh Alhendi (Qadsia SC), Abdullah Al-Buiraiki (Kuwait SC), Abdulaziz Alenezi (Qadsia SC), Fahed Al-Ebrahim (Qadsia SC), Sultan Alenezi (Qadsia SC), Mesaed Alenzi (Al Orouba, Saudi Arabia), Talal Al-Amer (Qadsia SC), Faisal Alenezi (Salmia SC), Faisal Zayed Alharbi (Jahra SC), Bader Al-Mutawa (Qadsia SC), Khaled Ebrahim Hajiah (Qadsia SC), Abdulrahman Alsammari (Naser SC), Yousef Naser Alsulaiman (Kazma SC), Ali Maqseed (Arabi SC), Nawaf Al-Khadi (Qadsia SC), Hameed Youssef (Arabia SC) (Writing by Ian Ransom; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)