Bahraini youth depart for Asian U-17 qualifiers

TDT | Manama           

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A 23-player Bahrain youth national team left for Muscat yesterday to participate in the qualifiers for the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup. The Bahrainis are in Group C for qualification alongside group hosts Oman, Iraq, Qatar and Lebanon.

They travelled with a delegation headed by team manager Khaled Shaheen. The squad, coached by Bahraini tactician Bader Khalil, included Mohammed Abdulhakeem, Mahran Mohammed, Ammar Al Basri, Ali Younis, Ali Al Sharqawi, Ahmed Jassim, Sayed Karrar Alawi, Rashid Majiran, Sami Bassam, Mahdi Toorani, Saif Albuflasa, Abdulla Al Khalidi, Mohammed Ahmed, Nasser Awad, Youssef Al Dosari, Faris Mahdi, Ali Nesaif, Salah Saleh, Khaled Ahmed, Faisal Awad, Mohammed Khalifa, Salman Al Saber and Rashid Bukhamas. Bahrain open their qualifying bid against Lebanon on Saturday.

They then face off with Qatar on October 3, before playing Oman on October 5. Their final fixture will be against Iraq on October 7. There are 44 nations in this stage of the qualifiers. They have been divided into 10 groups—four with five teams and six with four teams. In each group, teams will play each other once at a centralised venue. The ten group winners and the five best runners-up will qualify for the final tournament.