Bahrain getting set for India friendly

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s senior men’s national football team held a training session yesterday morning at Al Ahli Club Stadium in Zinj, as they continue their preparations for their international friendly match on Wednesday against India.

The Indians are scheduled to arrive in Bahrain this afternoon. The tune-up game will be played at Muharraq Club Stadium in Arad. It is scheduled for a 7pm kick-off.

The Bahrain Football Association has yet to announce details on entry for spectators. The friendly is Bahrain’s first of three over the coming week-and-a-half as part of their latest training gathering.

They are also scheduled to play Burundi on Saturday at the same venue, before playing Belarus on March 29 at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town. The nationals are using these friendlies to gear up for their upcoming competitions, particularly the third round of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in June.

“We are happy that in such circumstances, we can get together again,” said India head coach Igor Stimac, who is also preparing his team for the continental qualifiers.

“We are looking ahead to the international friendlies. The last two years haven’t been easy, and life has been hard. But this is no time to complain, and we are looking ahead. “We are playing Bahrain and Belarus, and they are better-ranked sides than us. But whatever the rankings are, you need to do it on the pitch.

“Bahrain will show us where we stand. We will give chances to some young players who have played well in the Hero ISL (Indian Super League) this season to see how much we can use them for the qualifiers in June.”

India will also be playing another friendly while in Bahrain, against Belarus on Saturday. “We look to perform well in the forthcoming two matches,” said Stimac. “We need to make sure that we zero down on the best combination for the qualifiers in June.”

Bahrain are in Group E of qualifying along with Turkmenistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia. The games are set to be hosted in Kuala Lumpur. Bahrain head coach Helio Sousa has named a 26-player squad for this training period, which continues until March 29.

The national team’s training roster includes Ali Madan, Abdulla Hazaa, Ali Haram, Abdulla Yousef, Komail Al Aswad, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Sayed Redha Isa, Jassim Al Shaikh, Hamad Shamsan, Abdulla Efrih, Abdulwahab Al Malood, Amine Hasan, Hamza Juban, Hasan Karrani, Waleed Al Hayam, Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Ahmed Abdulla, Mahdi Humaidan, Mohammed Hardan, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Ammar Abbas, Ebrahim Al Khattal, Abbas Ayyad, Abdulaziz Mohamed and Abdulla Hashash.

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