Kuwait will make their UFWC debut when they take on current champions North Korea for the Unofficial Football World Championships title next Friday, 17 February. The Middle-Eastern nation are the first challengers in North Korea’s UFWC reign.

The match will take place in Changsha, China, and is the first of two warm-up friendlies for Kuwait (the second is against China) before their World Cup qualification showdown with South Korea. A win for Kuwait in that qualifier would see them leapfrog the South Koreans in their group and progress to the final stage of World Cup qualifying.

Al-Azraq (The Blue) have only made it to the World Cup finals once before. At Spain 1982, they were knocked out in the group stages following a draw with Czechoslovakia before a heavy defeat to a Michel Platini-inspired France and a 1-0 loss to England, courtesy of a goal from Trevor Francis.

Kuwait have had a little more success in continental tournaments. They won their sole Asian Cup on home turf in 1980, but have had few wins in the competition since then. Last year, they lost all three group matches.

However, they are the most successful country in the history of the Gulf Cup of Nations. The tournament is not recognised by FIFA, but it has been held 20 times since 1970, and Kuwait have won it 10 times, including at the most recent event in 2010.

Kuwait’s only other claim to fame is their previously-held record for the biggest international win. They thrashed Bhutan 20-0 in 2000, though this was beaten twice by Australia in 2001.

They are currently coached by Serbian Goran Tufegdzic. He took over managerial duties in 2009 and has a positive record so far. He has lost just 10 of his 57 games in charge, winning 26 and drawing 21. This can certainly be looked upon as an achievement considering his squad is made up entirely of players that ply their trade in the Kuwaiti league.

His key man is undoubtedly Bader Al-Mutwa. The 27-year-old has become a talisman for Kuwait over the past half a decade and has won 114 caps, second only to recently retired Bashar Abdullah, who has 133. The striker is Kuwait’s main attacking threat; he has an eye for goal as well as the vision and passing ability to set-up his teammates. He came close to playing in Europe in 2010, but his trial with Malaga was unsuccessful.

He was often employed as the lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation, but has recently been joined up front by 21-year-old Yousef Nasser, enabling Al-Mutwa to drop a little deeper into his preferred Trequartista role. Nasser is an out-and-out striker, and has been scoring plenty of goals both for his club and internationally.

Other players to watch over include the captain, Nawaf Al- Khaldi, and Fahad Al-Enezi. Al-Khaldi is an eccentric goalkeeper who is quick off his line and not afraid to use his feet, while the headbanded Al-Enezi plays on the wing and will look to use his pace and trickery to get behind the North Korean defence.

Kuwait come into the game against North Korea following a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan in Kuwait City last month, and should be favourites for the match. They are currently 95th in the FIFA rankings compared to North Korea’s position of 107th.

The two countries have played each other 11 times in their history. Kuwait have won four, whereas North Korea have only been victorious once. They have also twice played each other in China, with both games resulting in draws after normal time, (though North Korea won one on penalties).

Should Kuwait win, China will get their first chance to become UFWC champions. Kuwait play China on 22 February. But if North Korea keep hold of their title, Tajikistan will get their third shot at the title, following their 8-0 and 4-0 losses to Japan in 2011. North Korea play Tajikistan on 27 February.

We’ll have full coverage of Kuwait vs North Korea, and all subsequent UFWC title matches, right here.

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Match Previews Kuwait, North Korea

Photo by yingtak (Flickr, some rights reserved)

The final UFWC title match of 2011 sees long-standing champions Japan travel to North Korea in one of the toughest tests of their reign. Japan have been champions for 16 games, since beating Argentina back in October 2010. Back-to-back high-scoring wins over Tajikistan (8-0 and 4-0) were impressive, but in truth far too easy for the Blue Samurai. This trip to North Korea should test the champions to their limits.

The latest victory over Tajikistan means that Japan have already achieved passage to the next stage of World Cup qualifiers. This match, also a WC qualifier, therefore has less significance. However, to relax or shift down a gear could be catastrophic in terms of their reign as unofficial football world champions. North Korea have already been eliminated from World Cup qualifying, so it can be argued that they have nothing to play for. But a history of antagonism between the two nations suggests that won’t be the case, and the North Koreans will no doubt be very keen to relieve their visitors of the UFWC title.

Japan only just managed to defeat North Korea, in Japan, in the last match between the two sides on 2 September. That game, in Saitama, saw Japan enjoy the bulk of the possession without managing to capitalise in terms of goals – until the 94nd minute, when Maya Yoshida scored with a last-gasp header from a corner kick. Japan had other chances to score, but looked fairly toothless up front. That problem seems to have been eradicated, if Japan’s 12 goals in the last two matches are anything to go by. But North Korea proved in the last match between the two that they are pretty solid at the back, and they too had chances to score. It’s unlikely to be an easy match for the Blue Samurai.

This is the first time in 22 years that Japan have played in North Korea. The Koreans won 2-0 back in 1989. A subsequent match, set to be played in Pyongyang in 2005, was moved to a neutral venue in Thailand due to security concerns. Political relations between the two nations remain extremely strained. Only around 150 Blue Samurai fans will travel to Pyongyang, and they have been warned not to stray from their official party, and not to carry Japanese flags, banners or drums. The venue, the Kim Il Sung Stadium, is named after an anti-Japanese guerilla fighter. To further unsettle the Japanese, the stadium has a plastic pitch, which few of the visiting players will appreciate.

The game against Japan in September was North Korea’s third UFWC title match, and they’ve yet to win any of them. The nation did qualify for the 2010 World Cup, but lost all three group matches. Since then, there have been mixed fortunes, beating the likes of beaten Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, but losing to China, Iran and Iraq. North Korea’s last two matches were against Uzbekistan, and both were lost 1-0.

The North Korean squad includes three players who play their club football in Japan. Midfielders Ryang Yong-Gi and An Yong-Hak play for Vegalta Sendai and Kashiwa Reysol respectively, and defender Kim Song-Gi plays for Cerezo Osaka. And the star of the squad is Japanese-born striker Jong Tae-Se, who plays in Germany for VfL Bochum. Nicknamed “the People’s Rooney”, and known as Chong Tese in Japan and Germany, he was born in Japan to South Korean parents, yet holds a North Korean passport. 27-year-old Jong scored 10 in 25 games in Bundesliga 2 last season, and has scored 3 in 9 so far this season. He was involved in much of North Korea’s best play in the previous match against Japan, and was a standout performer alongside goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk.

If you’d like to read more about Jong Tae-se and the often-secretive world of North Korean football, we covered the story in more depth in a previous post

Japan, who have been training in China at the Beijing National Stadium, are likely to line up with a very similar team to the one that comfortably beat Tajikistan. Striker Mike Havenaar was withdrawn early in the second half of that match, and may not start in Pyongyang. Alberto Zaccheroni may also take the opportunity to bring some fringe plarers into the team. But as for qualms that Japan may not take this match entirely seriously, putting their UFWC title on the line, the players seem focussed on getting a good result. Quoted in the Japan Times, defender Atsuto Uchida said, “We’ve got a game to play and as long as we’re playing, I have no intension of losing.”

Kick-off is 1600 local time, which is 0700 GMT. We’ll have a full match report here within minutes of the final whistle, and you can get live coverage via our Twitter feed @UFWC_Football.

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Match Previews japan, North Korea