The two royals met at Kuwait’s Bayan Palace during Sheikh Hamad’s visit to the neighbouring Gulf state.

Kuwait’s Amir, Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, received the Qatari Minister of Sports and Youth, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani on Tuesday.

The Kuwait News Agency reported that the two royals met at Kuwait’s Bayan Palace on the occasion of Sheikh Hamad’s visit to the neighbouring Gulf state. Other senior officials were also present during the meeting.

The meeting preceded the anticipated Qatar versus Kuwait showdown for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 and FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers on Tuesday night.

Qatar’s Al Annabi, the two-time Asian Cup champions, catapulted to the third round of qualifiers after defeating Kuwait’s Al Azraq 2-1.

Akram Afif donned the captain’s hat in the absence of Hassan Al Haydos, who bid farewell to international football after playing for Qatar for 16 years.

During his post-match remarks, Afif said: “For us, we got the important thing which is the win and the ticket to qualify for the next round of World Cup qualifiers, and we wish good luck to Kuwait for the last two matches.”

Despite losing against the Maroons on Tuesday, the Blues’ head coach, Rui Bento, remains proud of his players and optimistic for the future.

“Our chances to qualify are still open, our plan from the beginning was to build a new national team and we are moving forward with this plan. Today, luck was not on our side to score, but I’m sure in the future, luck will be on our side,” Bento said.