Bahrain all set for Asian Cup qualifiers

TDT | Manama    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s senior men’s national football team are now in their final days of preparation for their upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers, which get underway tomorrow.

The nationals are in Kuala Lumpur to play their Group E qualification matches in the hopes of securing a berth in the continental competition.

They will be facing the likes of Bangladesh, Turkmenistan and hosts Malaysia for the one automatic berth from their group. The Bahrainis first face off with their Bangladeshi counterparts tomorrow in a match scheduled for a 12.15pm kick-off, Bahrain time.

They then play Malaysia on Saturday at 4pm, Bahrain time, before completing their qualifying campaign against Turkmenistan on June 14, again at 12.15pm, Bahrain time. All games will be played at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.

The nationals have been training daily at the Malaysian capital ahead of their qualification assignments. From all four Group E nations, Bahrain are the highest-classified team on the FIFA World Ranking in 89th.

Turkmenistan are 134th, Malaysia 154th and Bangladesh 188th. Under Sousa, the Bahrainis have faced Malaysia once in the past—a friendly match held last year which Bahrain won 2-0. Sousa has yet to face Bangladesh and Turkmenistan in the three years he has been at the helm of the national team.

Squad

The Bahrain squad in Kuala Lumpur features goalkeepers Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Sayed Shubbar Alawi and Ammar Mohammed; defenders Rashed Alhooti, Ahmed Abdulla, Waleed Al Hayyam, Ameen Denade, Ahmed Bughammar, Hamad Shamsan, Abbas Ayyad and Sayed Redha Isa; midfielders Ali Haram, Jassim Al Shaikh, Mahdi Abdullatif, Ammar Jaffar, Komail Alaswad, Abdulwahab Almalood, Ali Madan, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Ebrahim Al Khattal, Mahdi Humaidan and Saeed; and strikers Hashim Sayed Isa and Abdulla Yusuf.

There are 24 teams in all in this final round of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2023. They have been divided into four groups, each of which will be played at centralised venues. All six group winners plus the five best runners-up will earn berths in the Asian Cup, which will be held next year at a yet-tobe-determine venue following the recent withdrawal of China as hosts.

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.