Bahrain defeat Lebanon in Dubai friendly

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain defeated Lebanon 3-1 last night in an international friendly match played in Dubai.

The Bahrainis are in the Emirates for an overseas-based training camp in preparation for their upcoming joint-qualifying matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

Three different players scored in the game, including Sayed Hashim Essa, Kumail Alaswad and Mohammed Marhoon.

The result was their second straight victory in a tune-up during their camp. They had earlier beaten their counterparts from Tajikistan 1-0 in their first friendly played at the be- ginning of the week.

They have one more exhibition match to play. It will be against the Emiratis on Monday. They are then scheduled to fly back to the Kingdom the next day.

The Bahrainis have been in Dubai since the beginning of the month, where they have been training under the supervision of national team head coach Helio Sousa.

Qualifier match days

Bahrain has three fixtures remaining in the joint-qualifiers, and they must be completed before June of next year, the Asian Football Confederation has announced.

Two match days will take place in March of 2021, with another two in June.

Bahrain is still to face Cambodia at home, and play away at Iran before closing out this stage of qualification against Hong Kong, also at home.
There are eight groups in all in this round of qualifiers, with five nations in each group. At the end, the eight group winners and the four best runners-up advance to the third round of World Cup qualifying, and also secure their berths in the Asian Cup. The next best 24 teams will compete in a separate competition for the remaining 12 slots in the Asian Cup.

Meanwhile, the AFC also decided to change the eligibility rules for the AFC U-16 Championship in Bahrain. Players born on or after January 1, 2004, are now allowed to play in the tournament, which has been postponed from this year. The new dates are to be further discussed.