Bahrainis lose to Kuwait in futsal qualifier

TDT | Manama    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain suffered a 3-5 defeat to Kuwait last night in their final qualifying match for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024.

Both the Bahrainis and Kuwaitis had already booked their tickets to the continental competition heading into yesterday’s clash, played at the Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town.

The nationals thus finished as runners-up of Group F of the qualifiers, while Kuwait are the winners.

Only the top teams from each of the eight qualification groups, plus the seven best runners-up, qualify for the tournament finals.

The hosts of next year’s event, who have yet to be determined, are also in the fray to make 16 nations in all.

In yesterday’s other divisional fixture, Timor-Leste defeated Brunei 8-0. Both teams were eliminated from qualification contention.

Bahrain won two of their three qualifiers. They have qualified for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup for only the fourth time in the tournament’s history.

The nationals previously also played in the 2002, 2018 and 2022 tournaments, with their best finish in the 2018 event in Taiwan where they reached the quarter-finals.

The competition also acts as the qualifier for the FIFA Futsal World Cup, with five teams from the AFC booking a berth in the global competition, also to be held next year in September.

Bahrain, coached by Brazilian Rafael Fogageiro, played in the qualifiers with a 14-player squad.

The team included Sayed Fadhel Radhi, Sayed Mohammed Hameed, Loay Al Mahfouz, Mohammed Al Sindi, Falah Abbas, Jassam Anan, Saleh Sinjar, Salman Al Mulla, Mirza Al Nuaimi, Ahmed Antar, Ahmed Abdulnabi, Hassan Mohammed, Ammar Mihad and Fares Shirin. The qualifiers featured eight groups, each held in a centralised location.

Group A took place in Thailand, Group B in Saudi Arabia, Group C in Kyrgyzstan, Group D in Mongolia, Group E in Tajikistan, Group G in Uzbekistan and Group H in Chinese-Taipei.