Iraq will host Kuwait at the Basra International Stadium on Thursday in another game of their third-round 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The hosts will be looking to get a result and take a step closer to confirming their place in the World Cup finals.
The Lions of Mesopotamia picked up their third win of the qualifiers in a 1-0 victory over Oman in November to move to second place in the group, having drawn two and lost one of their previous five games. The hosts finished round two with a perfect record of six wins out of six and need a win this week to remain favorites to score direct qualification for next year's World Cup.
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Kuwait, on the other hand, are winless after six games in the main round, drawing four and losing the other two, with their most recent outing in the qualifiers ending in a 1-1 draw against Jordan.
The visitors only have one win in their last 12 games across all competitions and will need to pull out of their poor form in the coming games to remain in contention for at least the next group phase.
Iraq vs Kuwait Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have met on 32 previous occasions going into Thursday's meeting. Iraq have won 13 of those games, and 10 have ended in draws while Kuwait have won the remaining nine.
- The hosts are unbeaten in the last five editions of this fixture, a run stretching back to 2014.
- Only Japan (2) have conceded fewer goals in the main round of the AFC World Cup qualifiers than Iraq (3).
- Al-Azraq have the worst defensive record in Group B with a goal concession tally of 11.
- The sides have scored the same number of goals (5) in six games in round three of the qualifiers.
- Iraq are currently ranked 56th on the FIFA World Rankings while Kuwait are ranked 134th.
Iraq vs Kuwait Prediction
The hosts are overwhelming favorites heading into the midweek's clash and will only need to improve on their recent goal-scoring form to ensure they seal an easy victory.
Kuwait will be looking to pick up an unlikely result against a quality side. They have, however, struggled on the road of late and could lose this one.
Prediction: Iraq 2-0 Kuwait
Iraq vs Kuwait Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Iraq to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Five of the visitors’ last seven games have featured fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: No (Both sides have found the back of the net in just two of the hosts' last nine matches)
