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Kuwait’s only appearance at a World Cup was highlighted by a situation where interference by the country’s Prince led to a reversed decision by the referee.
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After drawing their opening match in 1982 against Czechoslovakia, Kuwait faced a tall task against France at Estadio José Zorrilla in Valladolid, Spain. Les Blues took a commanding 3-0 lead after in a 17-minute span, but the debutantes got one back in the 75th minute to cut the deficit to two.
Kuwait was unable to find the back of the net again, but France did score a fourth, which set off controversy in the stadium after Kuwait players claimed they heard a whistle and stopped playing. The sound came from the stands, but the goal counted.
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As the players plead their case, Kuwait’s Prince Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah made his way down onto the field to protest the goal to referee Myroslav Stupar of the Soviet Union. The Prince threatened to pull the team off the field if the decision wasn’t overturned.
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And it worked.
After several minutes, Stupar reversed his call and took the goal off the board for France to make the score 3-1 again. Despite that, France quickly returned the lead to three after Maxime Bossis made it 4-1 in the 89th minute.
Kuwait would drop its final match 1-0 to England and fail to advance in the tournament. The Prince would be fined roughly $14,000 for his pitch invasion.
It’s been 44 years since Kuwait last played in a World Cup. In 2018, FIFA banned the team as it was in the middle of qualification following government interference in the running of its Football Association.
During 2026 qualification, Kuwait advanced to the third stage, but finished bottom of their group after going winless in their 10 matches.
