Bahrain girls crush Kuwait to open under-18 WAFF tournament with win

Bahrain kicked off their campaign in the second West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Girls’ U18 Championship with a resounding 4-1 victory over Kuwait on the tournament’s opening night on Sunday at Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town. Leleya Sabkar and Alanood Almannaei both scored two goals apiece for host Bahrainis.

Leleya opened their account in the 11th minute and then added their fourth in the 81st, while Alanood was on target in the 46th and 75th minutes. For Kuwait, Muneerah Alraqem fired in their lone consolation in the 86th minute. Seven teams are taking part in the championship.

They have been divided into two groups for the preliminary stage, at the end of which the top two will move on to the knockout semi-finals. Group A features Jordan, the UAE, Lebanon and Iraq while Group B features Palestine, Kuwait and hosts Bahrain. In other matches on opening night, the UAE beat Iraq 4-2 while Lebanon ousted Jordan 3-0.

The next play date is today, with Palestine and Kuwait facing off in the opening game at 2.30pm, followed by Jordan battling Iraq at 5.30pm and then the UAE taking on Lebanon at 8.30pm. On January 2, which is the final day of the group stage, the UAE take on Jordan, Bahrain lock horns with Palestine and Lebanon play Iraq.

The final four will be held on January 4, and then the match for fifth place will be held the following evening. The gold and bronze medal games will then take place on January 6.