Bahrain U20’s World Cup Dreams Shattered

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

Email: hussainm@newsobahrain.com

Bahrain U20’s journey in the AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualification came to an abrupt end following a heavy 5-0 loss to Uzbekistan.

The match, played yesterday at the centralized venue of Fu Jen University, saw Uzbekistan dominate from start to finish, sealing their place at the top of Group B with a pristine record.

The Uzbeks won all four of their matches and scored an extraordinary 21 goals while conceding just one.

Uzbekistan started strong, with Abdulaev opening the scoring in the 26th minute. Bahrain struggled to find their rhythm and failed to mount a comeback. Urinbaev doubled Uzbekistan’s lead in the 62nd minute, and Ibraimov struck twice in quick succession, scoring in the 81st and 88th minute to make it 4-0.

Tukhsanov added a fifth goal in stoppage time, rounding off a perfect performance by the group leaders. This loss leaves Bahrain in third place with 6 points, finishing behind Cambodia by a point and ending their qualification hopes.

Yesterday’s loss against the Uzbeks and Wednesday’s defeat to Cambodia proved too costly. Other action In the day’s other match, there was nothing to separate Cambodia and Chinese Taipei as they played to a 1-1 draw.

Chinese Taipei struck first through Kuan-Lin in the 10th minute, but Cambodia responded with an equalizer from Souvannara Eav in the 36th minute.

Though Chinese Taipei earned their first point of the tournament, they still finished at the bottom of the group. Despite suffering one loss, Cambodia secured their runners-up spot with 7 points.

What’s Next? Bahrain's young squad will look to learn from this experience as they shift their focus to future competitions.