Bahrain outclass Kyrgyzstan in friendly

TDT | Manama                                       

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s senior men’s national football team defeated their counterparts from Kyrgyzstan 2-0 last night in an international friendly match played at the Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium at Muharraq Club in Arad.

Mohammed Abdulwahab and substitute Abdulla Al Hashash scored the game’s goals in the second half after a goalless opening 45 minutes, during which they could not convert a penalty.

The tune-up was the first of two friendlies scheduled in the coming week for the nationals. They are also set to face the Philippines on Tuesday next week at the same venue. That game is scheduled for a 7pm kick-off.

Tomorrow, the visiting Kyrgyzstan and Philippine teams are also set to meet in a friendly game at Al Ahli Club Stadium in Zinj. Bahrain is using these friendlies as part of their preparations for next month’s start to their continental qualification campaign for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

They will also be competing in the next edition of the AFC Asian Cup in Doha in January of next year. Bahrain head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi has called up 33 players for the two friendlies.

In last night’s match, he fielded a starting 11 of Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Mohammed Adel, Waleed Al Hayyam, Amine Hasan, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Mohammed Al Hardan, Abdulwahab, Komail Al Aswad, Ali Madan, Mahdi Humaidan and Abdulla Yusuf.

The Bahrainis opened the scoring in the 59th minute through Abdulwahab, while Al Hashash came on after the break and secured the victory five minutes from full time. The rest of the team features Mohammed Marhoon, Moses Atede, Ahmed Bughammar, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Hussain Al Ekri, Hazza Ali, Mohammed Abdulqayoom, Jassim Al Shaikh, Ali Hassan Saeed, Abdulaziz Khaled, Salem Omar, Hamza Al Juban, Mubarak Mohammed, Ahmed Al Sherooqi, Ebrahim Al Khattal, Ebrahim Luthfallah, Hussain Abdulkareem, Hamad Al Doseri, Salem Hussain, Ebrahim Al Wali and Jassim Khelaif.

Aside from these upcoming tuneups, Bahrain are also set to play an international friendly against Asian powerhouses Australia in January, as part of their final lead-up to the Asian Cup. The game will be played in Dubai on 6 January, just a few days before the continental showcase kicks off in Doha on 12 January.

For the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Bahrain will play directly in the second of five qualification rounds. They are in a competitive Group H along with the UAE, and either Yemen or Sri Lanka and Nepal or Laos. For the AFC Asian Cup, Bahrain are in Group E in the tournament’s preliminary round along with South Korea, Malaysia and Jordan.