(MENAFN - Arab Times) There were no losers Wednesday evening at the Kuwait Sports Club Stadium in Kaifan although a full-strength Real Madrid side beat Kuwait 2-0 in a friendly soccer match.
Spectators were treated to something special as the star-studded Spanish champions put on a class act for the thousands of spectators who had started arriving at the stadium hours before the game started. The match was something special as rarely have stars of that caliber have been seen in action on Kuwaiti soil.
Di Maria and Christiano Ronaldo both scored in the first half to seal the Real Madrid victory.
Game started with both teams threading very carefully to ensure they live up to the zero-injury plea made by some of the officials before the game started. Fabio Coentrao receiving an Ozil pass, fired a fierce one which was saved by the Kuwait Keeper in the eighth minute.
The first 15 minutes was spent by the Kuwait team trying to figure out what to make of the game while Real Madrid continued to string the ball among themselves as though it was a practice session. Kuwait's Fahad Enenzi, out of the blue lobbed the ball towards Yousef Sulaiman who quickly sped towards Casillas and was flagged offside.
As the Kuwait team begun to pick steam, Mourinho quickly pulled out Benzema to make way for Callejon in the 23rd minute. Four minutes later in the 27th minute, Di Maria tapped in the first goal of the game from an Ozil pass to beat Khalidi.
Kuwait's play maker Waleed Ali tried several times to out-maneuver the Madrid defense but to no avail. Ronaldo thrilled the fans with his antiques and later delivered a side-footed to Benzema who shot at goal and missed, because Fahad Awadhi gave him a leach-like policing that prevented him from having a leeway.
As the ball continued to hover around the Kuwaiti vital area, Christiano Ronaldo got an aerial pass from Altintop which he nodded in for the second goal in the 32nd minute.
The jam-packed stadium came alive as in the 66th minute after the Kuwait coach Goran Tufadgic decided to replace about two-thirds of the entire team in an attempt to breath fresh energy into their game. The mass substitution was also done by Madrid who started the second half with almost a new team.
The second half was the most interesting of the match as both sides played attacking games with the Kuwait side being a bit more aggressive than they had been in the first half, even calling for a penalty they felt they should have been given after a striker was fouled in the Madrid box. Despite the 2-0 loss, the Kuwaiti fans were elated at the sheer physical presence of the entire team of Real Madrid.
Real's objective is to keep up their solid numbers in their final match, which have allowed them to establish several records in La Liga and to stand undefeated throughout 2012.
Kuwait won the Asian Cup in 1980 and are the most honoured side in the Gulf Cup of Nations, winning the title ten times. They qualified for the World Cup once in 1982 and they've played in three Olympic Games.
They didn't make it to the forthcoming Brazil World Cup, but their recent results are solid: they've only lost one of their last six games, earning four victories and one draw in the rest.
Meanwhile, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan Palace, in the presence of His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the players and officials of the Spanish football giants Real Madrid. His Highness welcomed the visitors to Kuwait, hoping that they would have a pleasant stay in the country.
He also affirmed that football was a great sport that promoted peace and cooperation amongst people.
Spanish Ambassador to Kuwait Angel Losada, on his part, thanked His Highness the Amir for sponsoring the friendly match that would pit the Kuwaiti national team against Real Madrid, hoping that such events would further boost relations between Spain and Kuwait.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of the Amiri Diwan Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah and senior officials of the state.
