Bahrain drawn in winnable group

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain has been drawn in a challenging but winnable group for the final round of qualification for the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

The draw was held virtually yesterday in Kuala Lumpur and it saw the 24 participating teams in this stage divided into six groups of four.

The six group winners and five best second-placed teams will join China, Australia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, South Korea, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Vietnam in next year’s continental showcase.

Bahrain is in Group E along with Turkmenistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Their group’s qualifying matches will be held in the Malaysian capital.

The games will be played over a single round on three matchdays in June, including the 8th, 11th and 14th.

The AFC Asian Cup is scheduled to kick off on June 16 next year in China.

Bahrain is looking to secure their seventh appearance in the tournament proper.

They first appeared in 1988, and have qualified for the last five tournaments in 2004, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.

The Bahrainis’ best finish in the competition was fourth in 2004.

They reached the last 16 in 2019 but did not make it past the group stage the other times.

Each of the six groups will be held at a centralised venue.

Group A will be hosted by Kuwait, Group B by Mongolia, Group C by Uzbekistan, Group D by India and Group F by the Kyrgyz Republic.

Friendlies

Meanwhile, the Bahrain Football Association announced yesterday that it has added an international friendly match against Burundi to the national team’s schedule of games next month.

The Bahrainis are already set to play two exhibitions against India on March 23 and then against Belarus on March 29.

They will now also take on Burundi in between those fixtures on March 26.

The friendlies are part of the Bahrainis’ preparations for the Asian Cup qualifiers.