Bahrain team to play international friendly tonight with Australian counterparts in UAE

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain take on continental powerhouses Australia this evening in an international friendly football match in the UAE.

The tie will be played at Baniyas Stadium in Abu Dhabi, and it is scheduled to kick off at 5pm, Bahrain time.

Both teams are using the tuneup as part of their preparations for the AFC Asian Cup, which kicks off in Doha yesterday next week.

The Bahrainis have been training in Dubai since the start of this week as part of their final lead-up to the tournament.

All the players on their 26-strong squad have arrived and joined the daily sessions being supervised by head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi of Argentina.

This evening’s friendly will pit the nationals against one of the strongest teams in the world and in all of Asia.

The Australian senior men’s squad, nicknamed the “Socceroos”, are currently 25th on the FIFA World Ranking and fourth-best in the continent, behind only Japan, Iran and South Korea.

Bahrain are 86th in the world and 12th in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Australia, coached by Graham Arnold, are enjoying their highest global ranking since September of 2012, which was the last time they were 25th.

They also have a 26-player squad in the UAE gearing up for the AFC Asian Cup.

Losing streak

The Australians will give Bahrain a tough test today. The nationals have lost all five of their previous head-to-heads. Their last meeting came at the 2011 edition of the AFC Asian Cup, when the Bahrainis suffered a narrow 0-1 defeat.

In 2009, Australia won a FIFA World Cup qualifier 2-0, adding to their 1-0 win against Bahrain in 2008 in the same qualifying campaign.

In 2006, Bahrain and Australia squared off twice in AFC Asian Cup qualifying, with the “Socceroos” winning both times, first 3-1 and then 2-0.

Following this evening ’s friendly, the Kingdom’s national team will also play an informal training match against African side Angola on Wednesday, after which they depart for the Qatari capital the next day for the AFC Asian Cup.

The Bahrainis are in Group E for the continental showcase along with South Korea, Malaysia and Jordan; while the Australians are in Group B with Uzbekistan, Syria and India.

Bahrain kick off their campaign against the South Koreans on 15 January, and then take on their Malaysian counterparts on 20 January.

They complete the preliminary stage against Jordan on 25 January.

Bahrain Squad

Goalkeepers: Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Ebrahim Luthfallah, Abdulkarim Al Fardan

Defenders: Amine Benadi, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Waleed Al Hayyam, Ahmed Bughammar, Mohammed Adel, Hussain Al Aker, Abdulla Al Khalasi

Midfielders: Hazza Ali, Mohammed Abdulwahab, Moses Atede, Mohammed Hardan, Ebrahim Alwali, Mohammed Abdulqayoom, Jassim Al Shaikh, Jassim Khelaif, Mohammed Marhoon, Komail Al Aswad, Ebrahim Al Khattal

Forwards: Ali Hassan Saeed, Ali Madan, Mahdi Humaidan, Abdulla Al Hashash, Abdulla Yusuf

Australia Squad

Goalkeepers: Joe Gauci, Matt Ryan, Lawrence Thomas

Defenders: Nathaniel Atkinson, Cameron Burgess, Lewis Miller, Aziz Behich, Thomas Deng, Kye Rowles, Jordy Bos, Gethin jones, Harry Souttar

Midfielders: Keanu Baccus, Connor Metcalfe, Jackson Irvine, Aiden O’Neill, Riley McGree, Patrick Yazbek

Forwards: Martin Boyle, Craig Goodwin, Marco Tilio, Mitch Duke, John Iredale, Bruno Fornaroli, Sam Silvera, Kusini Yeng