Kuwait SC are champions of Asia’s third tier once again. In front of nearly 44,000 fans at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, the club came from behind twice to beat Cambodia’s Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng 4-3 after extra time in the AFC Challenge League 2025/26 final, sealing a dramatic comeback that will be remembered for years. It was Kuwait SC’s fourth continental title, and one of the most thrilling finals the competition has produced.
The match had everything, and for fans who followed every twist and want to understand the odds and markets behind games like this, our guide to sports betting basics is a useful place to start.
Svay Rieng could not have started better. Tiago Alves put the Cambodian side ahead inside the third minute, and Ryo Fujii doubled the lead nine minutes in, leaving Kuwait SC staring at a two-goal deficit before the game had settled. For a home crowd expecting a coronation, the opening quarter was a shock.
The response came after the break. Mehdi Barrahma pulled one back in the 48th minute, converting a rebound after a saved free-kick, with the goal confirmed by VAR. Eight minutes later Mohamed Marhoon levelled the tie, finishing from close range to make it 2-2 and swing the momentum firmly toward the hosts. Normal time ended level, sending the final to extra time.
The drama was not finished. Cristian Roque restored Svay Rieng’s lead in the 96th minute with a long-range strike, only for Amr Abdelfattah to equalise again just three minutes later. Then, in the 110th minute, Yousef Nasser rose to head home a cross from Mohammad Daham, securing the 4-3 win and the Kuwait SC AFC Challenge League crown. Abdelfattah, who provided two assists and scored in the comeback, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
The victory added a fourth continental trophy to the club’s history, following their three AFC Cup wins in 2009, 2012, and 2013. Winning the AFC Challenge League also underlines Kuwait SC’s standing as one of the region’s most decorated clubs, and caps a campaign in which they topped their group and battled through the knockout rounds to reach the final on home soil.
For Svay Rieng, it was heartbreak for the second year running, having also finished runners-up in the previous edition. Their Ghanaian striker Kwame Peprah still ended the tournament as its top scorer with eight goals, a bright note in a final that slipped away.
The title carries Kuwait SC into continental competition again next season, and the manner of this win, twice behind and still finding a way through, will give the squad real belief going forward. For Kuwaiti football, it is a statement result on the biggest club stage the country has hosted in years, and a night the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium will not soon forget.
Kuwait SC won the AFC Challenge League 2025/26, beating Cambodia’s Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng 4-3 after extra time in the final at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium.
Kuwait SC won 4-3 after extra time. The match was level at 2-2 after normal time before both sides traded goals in extra time, with Yousef Nasser scoring the winner in the 110th minute.
The AFC Challenge League 2026 was Kuwait SC’s fourth continental title. The club previously won the AFC Cup three times, in 2009, 2012, and 2013.
Amr Abdelfattah was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. In the final he provided two assists and scored in Kuwait SC’s comeback from two goals down.
The final was played at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Ardiya, Kuwait, in front of a crowd of around 44,000 fans on 13 May 2026.
