FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN face off with the UAE today in their opening match of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U19 Championship, being held in Taif, Saudi Arabia.
The game is scheduled for a 5pm kick-off, Bahrain time, at King Fahd Sports City Stadium.
It is the first fixture in Group C, which also includes Syria and Palestine, who face off in the other divisional clash set for 9pm at the same venue.
The tournament’s preliminary round got underway last night with a pair of matches in Group A, which features Kuwait, Oman, Yemen and hosts Saudi. Group B is composed of two-time defending champions Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Albania, who are competing as an invited non-WAFF entry.
Bahrain head coach Ali Sanqour expressed a positive outlook ahead of their first game. Speaking in his pre-tournament Press conference, the Bahraini tactician said that his players head into the competition with no pressure, and added that he is confident in their squad, who are a promising generation with future stars.
Sanqour added that the participating national teams know each other well, which makes it difficult to predict who will advance to the knockout stage.
He highlighted that the national team will give their all for a positive outcome in the championship. Following this evening’s fixture, the Bahrainis’ next assignment will be against Palestine on Friday at 5pm at King Fahd Sports City Stadium, and then they complete their Group C schedule on Sunday against Syria at 9pm at Okaz Club.
Only the top team from each of the three groups advance to the ensuing semi-finals, along with the best second-placed squad. The final four is scheduled for July 3, with the final then taking place on July 5.
Bahrain have a 23-player squad for the tournament that includes Ali Sanad, Ali Al Mahouzi, Ahmed Al Hamoud, Salman Al Saber, Muhannad Al Khalaqi, Ashraf Mubarak, Jamal Alkhalaqi, Issa Al Issa, Issa Al Khuzami, Abdulla Jamal, Ammar Al Basri, Ali Aman, Rashid Majeran, Muhannad Tarada, Abdulla Al Khalidi, Mohammed Hamada, Mohamed Ahmed, Khaled Al Khelaif, Yahya Al Asfour, Saud Mohsen, Sami Oudi, Ahmed Al Bari and Saif Al Buflasa.
This year’s WAFF U19 Championship is its third edition. Iraq won both the times it was held, including in Basra and Erbil in 2021, and in Palestine in 2019. Bahrain participated both times.
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