BAHRAIN last night put their campaign back on track in the qualifying tournament for the 2020 Futsal Championship.
The nationals beat Palestine 4-1 for their first victory in Group ‘A’ at the Khalifa Sports City.
Ahmed Al Nabi scored two goals, Saleh Ahmed and Ali Al Maliki one each for Bahrain.
“It was a morale boosting victory after a 3-3 draw with the UAE,” said Salman Al Mulla, one of the key players for Bahrain.
“We are now looking forward to the match against Kuwait tonight which is crucial for both teams.
“We know that Kuwait have won all their three matches so far, but that will not affect us. We are confident of winning tonight.”
Impressive
In another Group ‘A’ match yesterday, Kuwait continued their impressive run beating Iraq 4-1, after leading 2-0 at half-time, for their third successive victory.
Unbeaten Kuwait top the table with nine points while Bahrain are second on four, Iraq third on three, the UAE fourth on one and Palestine have lost all their three matches so far.
Bahrain take on Kuwait today and clash with Iraq on Sunday, both at 7pm.
In Group ‘B’ yesterday, Lebanon edged out Saudi Arabia 2-1 for their second successive victory while Oman proved too good for Qatar 3-0 for their first win.
Lebanon top the group with six points while Saudi Arabia are second on three, Oman third, also on three points, while Qatar have lost both their matches.
A total of 16 teams qualify to play in the finals in 2020, including Turkmenistan who qualified automatically as hosts.
The qualification process is divided into four zones: Asean Zone, where the 2019 AFF Futsal Championship will serve as the qualifying competition, Central and South Zone (Nepal being the only team from South Zone entering), East Zone and West Zone.
The top two teams from each group qualify for the finals.
TODAY’S FIXTURES
5pm: UAE vs Iraq
7pm: Bahrain vs Kuwait