U23 Bahrainis bow to Iraqis in AFC qualifier

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s Olympic football team suffered a huge blow to their hopes of securing a place in the 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup last night following a heart-breaking 0-3 loss to their counterparts from Iraq.

On target for the Iraqis, who are guided by former Bahrain senior men’s head coach Miroslav Soukup, were Hasan Abdulkareem Sayyid, Muntadher Mohammed and substitute Sohaib Raad Al Gertani.

With the result, the Bahrainis ended their qualification bid with three points from one victory in their two matches in Group C.

They had previously beaten the Maldives 3-0 in their first fixture.

Despite the loss, the nationals still have a slim chance to qualify as one of four best runners-up from the 11 qualification groups.

This was confirmed by the Bahrain Football Association.

The final games in qualifying are to be completed tomorrow.

The Iraqis wrapped up their campaign with a maximum six points from two victories, thus finishing as group winners and earning their place in the U23 Asian Cup.

They had previously outclassed the Maldives 4-0 in their earlier game.

Iraq became one of 12 teams that have already secured their berths.

The 11 others are hosts Uzbekistan, Group A winners Qatar, Group B winners Iran, Group D winners Kuwait, Group E winners the UAE, Group G winners Australia, Group H winners South Korea, Group J winners Malaysia and Group K winners Japan, along with Thailand and Turkmenistan, who were runners-up in Group J and F, respectively.

Only four spots remain to be filled for the U23 Asian Cup, which will be determined by the winners of Groups F and I, and the two other places for best second-placed teams.

Bahrain conceded two of Iraq’s goals in an eventful first half.

Sayyid opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a wonder strike from nearly 30 yards out.

Operating on the right flank, the Iraqi midfielder unleashed a powerful left-footed shot that flew above the outstretched arm of Bahraini goalkeeper Ammar Mohamed Ahmed and into the top-right corner of the net.

Then, with four minutes to go before the half-time break, Mohammed doubled their advantage with another fine effort from range.

He fired in a curling kick from the edge of the box that gave Bahrain’s Ahmed no chance.

That was enough for the comfortable advantage heading into the interval.

Bahrain had a number of great chances to score in the first 45 minutes, but an Adnan Fawaz one-on-one with the goalkeeper was saved and a promising chance for Ebrahim Alkhattal was marginally off target.

The Bahrainis, coached by Ismail Karami, tried valiantly to fight back in the second half.

Chances were few and far between, but they were hoping to keep the deficit to two goals to better their chances of being among the best group runners-up.

Their hopes were dashed further, however, when Al Gertani applied the nail in the coffin in stoppage time.

He pounced on an opportunity to score from close range after Bahrain failed to clear a cross.