Bahrain take on Iraq in must-win qualifier

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s Olympic football team face a must-win today against Iraq in their Group C qualification bid for the 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup.

Both teams won their first game of the qualifiers against the Maldives last week.

The Iraqis first beat the South Asian side 4-0 before the Bahrainis followed that up with a 3-0 victory.

Iraq thus are on top of the group heading into this evening’s clash.

The Bahrainis need to defeat their West Asian counterparts in order to finish in first place and earn an automatic berth to the U23 Asian Cup.

Any other result would leave them in second, and they would have to be amongst the four best runners-up from the 11 qualification groups to earn a place in the tournament proper. Tonight’s match is scheduled for a 7.15pm kick-off. It will be played at the Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium at Muharraq Club in Arad.

A total of 39 nations are participating in the qualification competition.

They have been divided into 11 groups, with 15 spots available at next year’s AFC U23 Asian Cup.

Only the 11 group winners and four best second-placed teams seal their qualification to the finals.

Bahrain are coached by Ismail Karami.

They have a 23-player squad, which includes Mohammed Marhoon, Ammar Mohammed, Abdulla Ali, Fiasal Abdulla, Fahad Jassim, Abdulla Alkhlasi, Abbas Alasfoor, Hamza Abdulla, Hussain Abdulkareem, Hasan Isa, Abdulrahman Sayed, Sayed Mohammed Ameen, Ebrahim Alkhattal, Younes Mousa, Saud Alasam, Saleh Mohammed, Hamad Fuad, Mohammed Qayoom, Adnan Fawaz, Hamza Aljuban, Salem Hussain, Ali Meftah and Abdulla Alhaiki.