Bahrain lose to Tunisia in Arab Cup U-20 opener

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain bowed to Tunisia 0-3 last night in their opening match of the Arab Cup U-20 2022, being held in Abha, Saudi Arabia. The game was part of Group E in the competition’s preliminary round. The nationals conceded one goal in the first half and then the other two after the break.

It was a disappointing start for the Bahrainis, who will be hoping to bounce back on Monday when they take on the other Group E side of Djibouti. The competition features 18 nations in all. The teams have been divided into eight groups of three for the preliminary round. At the end of a single round-robin, the top team from each group along with the two best runners-up march through to the quarter-finals.

Bahrain’s junior players called up for the tournament include Sayed Ali Nasser, Abdullatif Humaid, Sayed Jassim Majid, Ramzi Khudair, Salem Al Dossary, Ahmed Dhiya, Mubarak Mohammed, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Issa Abdulla, Abdulla Burashid, Talal Ebrahim, Sayed Mahmood Al Mosawi, Saad Abdulla, Hashem Luay, Mustafa Mohammed, Ali Al Dosari, Abdulla Al Subaie, Mahmood Mohammed, Jawad Ali, Mohammed Hassan, Abdulla Al Ekry, Ashraf Mubarak and Abdulla Jamal.

The team is coached by Adel Alnoaimi. Group A features Iraq, Mauritania and hosts Saudi; Group B includes Yemen, Jordan and the UAE; Group C comprises Libya, Lebanon and Algeria; Group D features Somalia, Oman and Egypt; while Group F includes Palestine, Sudan and Morocco.

The Arab Cup U-20 is an important event to help Bahrain gear up ahead for future competitions, including the qualifiers for the AFC U-20 Asian Cup 2023, which will be held this September 10 to 18. The nationals are in Group B of the qualification process, with the matches being held in the Kingdom.