KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait ended their Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 campaign with a 2-1 win over Chinese Taipei but it was a victory with no joy.

Yousef Nasser scored once in each half, after Wu Chun-ching had equalized for Chinese Taipei after the restart as Kuwait ended their campaign in second place with 14 points but missed out on a place in the final round of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

The match started on a high note as Kuwait’s Bader Al Motawa added another impressive record to his resume when he drew level with Egypt’s Ahmed Hassan on 184 international caps after leading his side against Chinese Taipei at the Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium.

The West Asians, however, took their time to settle into the match and Al Motawa should have done better in the 10th minute when he mistimed a long-range effort which was easily saved by Chinese Taipei custodian Shih Shin-an.

Kuwait opened the scoring four minutes later from an excellent buildup when Fawaz Al Otaibi did well on his overlapping run before setting up Yousef Nasser for an easy finish.

Chinese Taipei, who had conceded 33 goals in their seven previous matches, escaped in the 38th minute when Al Motawa tried to catch Shih off his line but his looping effort was denied by the crossbar.

Kuwait continued to push for a second goal but Chinese Taipei held on with Shih on top of his game to deny Hamad Al Harbi’s header off Al Motawa’s set-piece five minutes from the half-time whistle.

Chinese Taipei started more aggressively at the start of the second half and their persistence paid off handsomely in the 51st minute when captain Wu Chun-ching angled his header past goalkeeper Kuwait Sulaiman Abdulghafoor.

Kuwait, however, restored their lead cushion in the 71st minute when Nasser scored a thunderous long-range effort off Al Motawa’s assist, leaving Shih rooted to the ground. — Agencies