Bahrain national team resume training

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s senior men’s national football team have resumed their local training gathering at Al Ahli Club in Zinj, in preparation for their upcoming international friendly match tomorrow against DR Congo.

The tie is set to be their second tune-up game in a week, after they previously faced Uganda in a contest they won 3-1. The two African sides are both highly ranked in their confederation and on the FIFA World Rankings.

Heading into the two exhibitions, Uganda are 82nd and DR Congo 64th, while Bahrain are 91st. National team head coach Helio Sousa has made a number of roster adjustments from the original squad he had called up at the start of their gathering.

Al Hala player Abdulaziz Khaled was his latest addition, a team official confirmed last night. Sousa has also added Al Ahli’s Abbas Ayyad along with Budaiya’s Abdulla Duij, who was one of the scorers against Uganda last week.

Meanwhile, Al Khaldiya’s Ahmed Abdulla has taken the place of Riffa’s Hazza Ali. The Bahrainis are using the friendlies as part of their preparations for their upcoming competitions, which include the third round of qualification for the AFC Asian Cup 2023, which will be held in June.

The nationals have yet to learn of their groupings for this stage of qualification. The draw is scheduled to be held on February 24. Matches will be played over three days in June, including on the 8th, 11th and 14th.

It was announced by the AFC that each group will hold their games in a centralised venue, and a bidding process will be held for the hosts. Bahrain are one of 24 national teams competing in this third round of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

These teams are to be divided into six groups of four to play a single round-robin. The group winners and the best five runners-up across all groups will qualify for the Asian Cup, where they are joined by China and by the 12 teams which qualified directly from the second round.

Bahrain have appeared in the Asian Cup, the continent’s premier football competition, six times in the past, including the last five editions. Their best finish was fourth in 2004.