Bahrain in tough Asian Cup group

TDT | Manama                                                             

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain were yesterday drawn in a tough Group E for the AFC Asian Cup 2023. The draw for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) showcase took place at Katara Opera House in Doha, where the tournament is scheduled to be held in January of next year.

In attendance were AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain and FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Representing the Kingdom’s senior men’s national football team at the ceremony were Bahrain Football Association (BFA) president Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, BFA secretary general Rashid Al Zoubi and national team assistant coach Ahmed Isa Al Amrei.

Bahrain are set to face their counterparts from two-time winners South Korea, Jordan and Malaysia in Group E in the competition’s opening stage. Tournament hosts and defending champions Qatar were drawn in Group A with their title defence to begin against two-time runners-up China, Tajikistan and Lebanon.

Group B will see 2015 champions Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria and India contesting for the knockout stage spots. Three-time winners Iran, 1996 runners-up the UAE, Hong Kong and Palestine are in Group C; while record four-time winners Japan, Indonesia, 2007 champions Iraq and Vietnam were drawn in Group D.

Group F will have three-time winners Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Oman. Following a single round-robin in each pool, the top two and four best third-placed teams advance into the final 16 before the Asian champions are crowned on February 10.

The AFC Asian Cup was originally scheduled to take place this summer, but had to be re-scheduled after original hosts China withdrew from organising the event due to circumstances caused by COVID-19.

Next year’s event will be the seventh time Bahrain will be playing in the AFC Asian Cup, after also competing in 1988 as well as in the tournament’s last five editions in 2004, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. The Bahrainis’ best finish was fourth in 2004, while the nationals made it to the round of 16 in the previous edition in 2019.

Meanwhile, the tournament’s logo was launched yesterday at the draw ceremony. Marking the occasion, Shaikh Salman commented: “The logo’s design reinforces the ambitions of the AFC and the local organising committee to leverage on Asia’s most prestigious showpiece to underline football as the continent’s number one sport, by engaging with the hundreds of millions of passionate fans of Asian football, whilst also presenting pronounced elements of the dazzling AFC Asian Cup trophy unveiled at the last edition as well as the warm Qatari and Arabic culture.”