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Doha (AFP) – Veteran Kuwaiti footballer Bader al-Mutawa became the world’s most capped international player when he ran out against Bahrain in an Arab Cup qualifier in Doha on Friday.
For the 36-year-old striker, who scored two goals on his international debut in 2003, it was his 185th appearance with the national team, beating a record long held by retired Egyptian star Ahmed Hassan.
But many top players are well placed in the race to break Mutawa’s record.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 36, is set to mark his 179th international appearance this Sunday when he skippers Portugal against Belgium,&nbsp;the world’s top-ranked team, in the Euro 2020 round of 16.
Portugal scraped through after a 2-2 draw with France in Budapest on Wednesday, with Ronaldo scoring two penalties that allowed him to equal the all-time international record of 109 goals set by Iran’s Ali Daei.
Another competitor is Spain’s veteran defender Sergio Ramos, who has played 180 internationals but was excluded from the national squad for Euro 2020.
Mutawa started his international career on September 4, 2003, in an AFC Asian Cup qualifier at the age of 18 and 237 days.
Since his debut with the Gulf “Blues”, the Kuwaiti captain has faced 44 different national teams and scored 54 goals.
The 2021 Arab Cup is scheduled to run between November 30 and December 18 in Doha, a year before it plays host to the 2022 World Cup.

Kuwait's Mutawa becomes world's most capped player

Kuwait's Mutawa becomes world's most capped player - World Soccer Talk

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Kuwait City (AFP) – Kuwait’s supreme court on Monday upheld the acquittal of Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah — one of the most powerful men in world sport — on charges of insulting the judiciary.
The ruling, which cannot be appealed, cleared Sheikh Ahmad — a member of the FIFA executive committee, a top International Olympic Committee member and head of Asia’s Olympic body — of insulting the public prosecutor and inciting public unrest.
The senior ruling family member was sentenced in December to six months in jail by a lower court for casting doubt on the integrity of the judiciary.
But an appeals court overturned that conviction in January.
Sheikh Ahmad, a nephew of Kuwaiti ruler Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, had denied the charges and considered the lower court sentence a personal attack against him.
The case erupted after FIFA and the IOC in October suspended Kuwait from all sporting activities over alleged government interference in competitions in the oil-rich Gulf state.
The FIFA suspension means Kuwait cannot take part in qualifying for the 2018 football World Cup and the IOC suspension means Kuwaiti athletes are barred from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next month.
Kuwait’s government has separately filed a lawsuit against Sheikh Ahmad, his brother Sheikh Talal — the chairman of Kuwait Olympic Committee — and 13 other officials over the bans.
It is also demanding hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Parliament last month passed legislation introducing sweeping changes to sports laws but several MPs said the amendments were unlikely to lead to the ban being lifted. &nbsp;
Sheikh Ahmad, a former oil minister, resigned from the cabinet in 2011 following a political dispute.

Kuwait top court acquits IOC powerbroker Sheikh Ahmad

Kuwait top court acquits IOC powerbroker Sheikh Ahmad - World Soccer Talk

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