Bahrain arrive in Doha for Arab Cup

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s senior men’s national football team have arrived in Doha ahead of the FIFA Arab Cup 2021, which kicks off on Tuesday. The nationals travelled on a chartered Gulf Air flight with a 23-player squad along with the coaching staff headed by Portuguese tactician Helio Sousa and administrative officials.

Coach Sousa made one last-minute change to the roster prior to their departure from the Kingdom. He has replaced veteran midfielder Mohammed Abdulwahab, who suffered an injury during training locally last week. In his place, Jassim Khelaif was called up.

The rest of the national team line-up includes Mahdi Humaidan, Ali Madan, Abdulwahab Al Malood, Jassim Al Shaikh, Komail Alaswad, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Isameel Abdullatif, Mohammed Al Romaihi, Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Sayed Shubbar Alawi, Ahmed Bughammar, Mohammed Hardan, Ahmed Nabeel, Ammar Abbas, Abbas Ayyad, Madhi Abduljabbar, Waleed Al Hayam, Rashid Alhooti, Abbas Fadhel, Sayed Redha Isa and Sayed Baqer. Bahrain are in Group A for the Arab Cup, which is set to feature 16 participating nations in all. The other teams in the Bahrainis’ group are hosts Qatar, Iraq and Oman.

The nationals begin their campaign against the home team on opening night, before taking on Iraq on December 3 and then facing Oman on December 6.

There are four groups in all for the preliminary stage. The top two squads at the end of a single round-robin advance to the knockouts. The Arab Cup will help Bahrain prepare for their campaign in the third round of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2023, which is set for June next year.

The tournament is being delivered by FIFA as a prelude to the FIFA World Cup 2022. It is seen as a vital opportunity to test operations and facilities ahead of next year’s global showcase. The FIFA Arab Cup is taking place in the same time slot as the World Cup, with the finals of both competitions to be held exactly one year apart.