The Story of Kuwait's First Goal in the Gulf Cups

With the launch of the 27th edition of the Gulf Arab Cup in Saudi Arabia, the Kuwaiti sports community is revisiting a long history of the goals that opened the “Blue” team’s scoring record in the tournament, from the inaugural edition held in Bahrain in 1970 to “Zain Gulf Cup 26” in Kuwait.

The attached table documents the scorer of Kuwait’s first goal in each edition, the opposing team that conceded the goal, the host country, and the club the player represented at the time.

In 21 editions, the Kuwaiti national team scored its first goal during its opening match, while in five editions it had to wait for subsequent matches after failing to score in its first game. These were Gulf Cups 7, 16, 19, 20, and 25.

Players from Al-Qadsiah topped the list by scoring Kuwait’s first goals in eight editions, followed by five each for players from Al-Kuwait and Al-Salmiya, four for Al-Kuwait (Kazma), three for Al-Arabi, and one for Al-Jahra. The Saudi national team’s net also bore the brunt of conceding Kuwait’s first goals in the Gulf Cup tournaments.

Among players, Yousef Nasser leads the list by opening Kuwait’s scoring in three editions, followed by Jasim Yaqoub, Yousef Sweid, Hussein Al-Khudri, Mosaad Nda, and Ahmed Al-Zafiri, each with two opening goals.

Mahmoud Dakseen holds the record for scoring the first Kuwaiti goal in the history of the Gulf Cup tournaments against Saudi Arabia in 1970, while Nasser scored the most recent entry on the list against Oman in “Zain Gulf Cup 26,” hosted by Kuwait.

Between Dakseen’s goal in the first edition and Nasser’s in the 26th edition, the slot for “Gulf Cup 27” remains open, awaiting either a new name or the return of one of the previous goal scorers. Who will score the “Blue” team’s first goal in Saudi Arabia, and against which national team?