Olympic team draw with Thai club in friendly

TDT | Manama                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s under-23 Olympic football team played to a 1-1 stalemate with Thai League Two side Kasetsart FC yesterday in a friendly match held as part of their ongoing overseas training camp in Bangkok.

Hussain Abdulkarim was on target for the Bahrainis in the contest, which took place on a drenched pitch following heavy downpours. The game was their second tune-up against a Thai club this week.

They previously also faced Prachinburi FC, whom they defeated with an impressive 9-0 score line. The nationals, coached by Dario Basic of Croatia, are currently in their camp preparing for their upcoming qualifiers for the 2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup, scheduled to take place next month.

This training period is scheduled to continue until 16 August. Bahrain’s group matches in the qualifiers are set to be held in the Kingdom. The nationals are in Group D with Japan, Palestine and Pakistan.

There are 11 groups in all, with 10 comprising four nations and one featuring three. Each group will host their matches at a centralised venue. Bahrain have qualified just once in the previous five editions of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup. That was in the 2020 event held in Thailand, when they did not make it past the group stage.