Bahrainis set for Asian Cup opener

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s senior men’s national football team have stepped up their preparations for their opening match tomorrow in this year’s AFC Asian Cup, currently being played in Doha.

The Bahrainis are set to kick off their campaign against continental powerhouses South Korea in their first assignment in Group E of the tournament’s preliminary round.

The game is scheduled for a 2.30pm kickoff, Bahrain time, and it will be played at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Rayyan.

The national team continued their intensive training programme under head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi last night in the final lead-up to their clash with the South Koreans, who are heavy favourites.

As part of its keenness to support Team Bahrain in all competitions, the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) has sponsored a number of tickets for Bahraini fans wishing to cheer on the national team at the Qatari capital for their games against South Korea and Malaysia.

BOC secretary general Faris Al Kooheji confirmed that this initiative is in implementation of the directives of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman, General Sports Authority president and BOC chief His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa to provide all forms of backing to Bahrain’s various sports squads.

Bahrain’s game against Malaysia will be their second fixture in Group E and it will be played on Saturday at 5.30pm, Bahrain time. The nationals’ last game of the preliminaries will be on 25 January against Jordan at 2.30pm, Bahrain time.

Bahrain need to finish amongst the top two in their group to automatically advance to the knockout stage, or be one of four best-ranked third-placed teams from the six pools.

Pizzi has 26 players on his squad in Doha.

They include goalkeepers Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Ebrahim Luthfallah and Abdulkarim Al Fardan; defenders Amine Benadi, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Waleed Al Hayyam, Salem Hussain, Mohammed Adel, Hussain Al Aker and 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 and Ebrahim Al Khattal; and forwards Ali Hassan Saeed, Ali Madan, Mahdi Humaidan, Abdulla Al Hashash and Abdulla Yusuf.

Bahrain are making their seventh appearance in the AFC Asian Cup, having qualified for the competition’s sixth straight edition.

Their first appearance came in 1988, and then also played in 2004, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.

Their best finish to date was fourth overall in the 2004 tournament held in China.