Bahrain took a huge step towards advancing to the third round of the Fifa World Cup 2025 qualifiers and the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Finals after defeating Nepal 3-0 at the Bahrain National Stadium last night.
The results took Bahrain to nine points in Group H, three adrift of UAE but, crucially, six ahead of Yemen with two matchdays remaining.
Having defeated the visitors 5-0 in the reverse on Thursday, Bahrain got off to a bright start when they took the lead in the seventh minute through defender Sayed Baqer.
Nepal fell further behind in the 16th minute after goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong conceded a penalty for a foul on Mohamed Marhoon, with Abdulla Yusuf Helal making no mistake from the spot.
Bahrain then showed their class with their third goal in the 36th minute, Mahdi Al Humaidan starting the move on the right flank with Komail Al Aswad beating the offside trap before slotting the ball past Chemjong.
Bahrain came close to increasing their tally three minutes later when Yusuf Helal threaded a pass to Al Aswad, who was within striking distance but Abhishek Limbu made his presence felt to foil the forward.
Bahrain maintained the same intensity in the second half with Marhoon coming close with his headed attempt in the 46th minute following Al Aswad’s cross from the left flank.
Nepal had a rare chance in the 50th minute when Sanjeeb Bista almost pounced on a poor back pass from Mohamed Adel but Bahrain keeper Ebrahim Lutfalla was quick to react to clear the danger.
Husain Abdulkarim then brought the best out of Chemjong in the 62nd minute with the keeper forcing a fingertip save to deny the Bahraini forward’s headed attempt following Adel’s cross from right.
Nepal thought they had scored in the 72nd minute when Bharat Khawas played the ball to Sanish Shrestha before the defender floated the ball to an unmarked Bista to find the back of the net, only for the effort to be ruled offside.
Meanwhile, Paulo Bento’s UAE cruised into the third round of the World Cup qualifiers and in the process sealed a place at the AFC Asian Cup after defeating Yemen 3-0 in the other Group H clash last night.
With a perfect record of 12 points, UAE are assured of a top two finish in the group while Yemen – with only three points – sit third in the standings behind Bahrain.
UAE put Yemen custodian Aman Khairalah under early pressure, first from Sultan Adil’s attempt from outside the box then Tahnoon Hamdan’s deceiving cross was met by Fabio Lima but the forward was unable to divert the ball towards goal.
Fabio then took centre stage in the 14th minute, the 30-year-old stroking a free-kick with his left foot into the bottom corner with Khairalah far too late to react.
Fired up by the goal, UAE grew in confidence, increasing their lead in the 23rd minute when Bader Nasser’s cross from the left evaded everyone before Fabio arrived at the last moment to sweep home his second.
The Emiratis’ dominance saw them adding a third in the 34th minute with Adil getting on the scoresheet, reacting quickly to finish from close range after his initial shot had been blocked by a defender.
Yemen started the second half in a positive manner, forcing Khalid Eisa into his first proper save with Abdulwasea Al Matari’s powerful shot then the UAE captain recovered swiftly to deny Haidar Khamisi on the follow-up.
However, that was as good as it got for Yemen at the Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium with Bento comfortable enough to make a triple substitution after the hour mark, affording the opportunity for Fabio, Adil and Yahia Nader to be rested.
When the qualifiers resume in June, UAE are away to Nepal while Yemen have a tough trip to Bahrain.
Qatar advanced to the third phase with a 2-1 victory over Kuwait as Iran and Uzbekistan joined Australia and Iraq in securing progress to the next round.
Almoez Ali twice put Marquez Lopez’s Asian Cup holders ahead in Kuwait City to maintain his side’s perfect record in Group A and seal top spot in the standings after India suffered a 2-1 loss against Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan also confirmed their place in the third round with a 3-0 win over Hong Kong in Tashkent, with goals from Eldor Shomurodov, Hojimat Erkinov and Oston Urunov ensuring they would take one of the two berths available in Group E.
They will be joined in the next round from the group by Iran, with both nations on 10 points after Mehdi Ghayedi scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Turkmenistan in Ashgabat.
Saudi Arabia, however, will have to wait until their meeting with Jordan on June 6 for another opportunity to book a berth in the next round after Rustam Soirov’s 80th minute equaliser earned Tajikistan a 1-1 draw against Roberto Mancini’s side.
The Saudis would have qualified with a win in Dushanbe but still lead Group G by three points from Jordan, who thrashed Pakistan 7-0 in Amman.
Kyrgyzstan and Oman are locked together on nine points at the top of Group D after Kyrgyzstan eased to a 5-1 win over visitors Taiwan and the Omanis won 2-0 against hosts Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.
Earlier in the day, Iraq and Australia confirmed their passage to the next round with 5-0 wins over the Philippines and Lebanon respectively securing their progress.
Iraq are certain to go through as one of the top two in Group F, where they lead Indonesia by five points after Shin Tae-yong’s side claimed a 3-0 win over Vietnam.
Australia will progress from Group I ahead of Palestine, who were 1-0 winners against Bangladesh.