BAHRAIN sailed to a 2-0 win over Yemen in their first Group H game of the second round of the 2026 Fifa World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium in Abha, Saudi Arabia, last night.
Midfielder Mohamed Marhoon put Bahrain ahead in the 38th minute before Yemen’s Harwan Al Zubaidi conceded an own goal in the second half to give the kingdom’s team a 2-0 lead.
Ironically, it was Yemen who started the game more confidently and should have scored the first goal of the match in the 12th minute but Abdulwasea Al Matari arrowed his free kick straight to Bahrain goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla.
Shortly thereafter, Bahrain went on the offensive but Yemen keeper Abdullah Al Sadi saved a header from Abdullah Al Hashsash and blocked Marhoon’s follow-up attempt in the 14th minute.
Marhoon was in action again after a few minutes but he sent the ball over the Yemen goal off a cross from Hazza Ali.
The midfielder’s perseverance finally paid off in the 38th minute when Al Sadi fumbled a clearance, enabling Marhoon to deposit the ball into the back of the net from inside the box.
Having led 1-0 at half-time, Bahrain came out all guns blazing in the second which resulted in Al Zubaidi conceding an own goal in the 48th minute.
Bahrain almost added another goal to their tally in the 65th minute but Al Sadi pulled off two spectacular saves by blocking an Al Hashsash attempt before blocking a Komail Al Aswad kick from distance.
Two minutes later, Yemen had another opportunity to open their account but Ahmed Maher found the goalpost from an acute angle.
Then it was Bahrain’s turn to attack the Yemeni goal but Al Sadi anticipated a long-range attempt by Mohamed Hasan perfectly in the 78th minute before blocking another effort by Al Aswad three minutes later.
With three valuable points in the bag, Bahrain will take on the UAE – who also got their campaign off to a winning start by thrashing Nepal, 4-0, in Dubai last night – next at the Bahrain National Stadium on Tuesday.
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