BAHRAIN’S senior men’s national football team has scheduled a series of exciting friendly matches over the next few months in preparation for upcoming campaigns in major international tournaments, including the AFC Asian Cup 2019.
The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) last night announced that the nationals will be playing four tune-up games, all at home, in September and October.
They will kick things off with a game against the Philippines on September 6, followed by a game against continental giants China on September 10.
The Bahrainis will then host another pair of friendlies the following month against tough regional opponents. Their first will be against Syria on October 11 and then with Palestine on October 16.
The national team, earlier this week, kicked off their summer training programme at the BFA pitches in Riffa under the supervision of assistant coach Khaled Taj. Head tactician Miroslav Soukup will take over when the team flies to his native Czech Republic on Sunday for an overseas camp.
Soukup had earlier named a 34-player squad to take part in the initial stages of local training. He is expected to reduce the team to 24 players before travelling to Prague.
More details on their upcoming friendly matches will be announced soon by the BFA.
The Bahrainis have been drawn in Group ‘A’ for the Asian Cup alongside tournament hosts UAE, India and Thailand. Group ‘B’ comprises Australia, Jordan, Palestine and Syria. Group ‘C’ features China, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines. Group ‘D’ includes Iran, Iraq, Vietnam and Yemen. Group ‘E’ is composed of North Korea, Lebanon, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Group ‘F’ includes Japan, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The AFC Asian Cup 2019 will be Bahrain’s sixth participation in the continental showcase. Their best finish was in 2004, when they claimed fourth place overall out of 16 participating teams. In the previous edition in 2015 held in Australia, the Bahrainis failed to make it past the group stage after losing two of their three games.
Bahrain will be featuring in the inaugural match of the Asian Cup in the 43,000-capacity Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It will be played on January 5 against hosts UAE.
Bahrain next take on Thailand on January 10 at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai. Their third and final group game against India will then be held on January 14 at Sharjah Stadium.