Bahrain's hopes of securing a spot in the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2025 were dashed yesterday following a 0-2 defeat to South Korea at Dalian Football Youth Training Centre in Dalian, China.
Goals on either side of half-time by Lee Su-yoon and Lee Ji-ho were enough to give the South Koreans the victory. They handed the Bahrainis their second loss after three matches in Group C – effectively ending their qualification bid with one match still to play.
The kingdom’s youth national football team needed to finish the qualifiers in the top two to have any shot of earning a place in the continental showcase, but are now out of reach for a spot. They rank third on the Group C table behind South Korea and China, who have nine points apiece, and are ahead of Bhutan and the Maldives, who have a point each.
The Chinese enjoyed a 9-0 rout of the Maldives in yesterday’s other divisional fixture.
Only one match day remains. It is tomorrow, when Bahrain face off with Bhutan at 10.30am and South Korea play China at 2.35pm. Both times are Bahrain.
The South Koreans and Chinese will be battling for group supremacy, which would earn them the automatic ticket to next year’s AFC U17 Asian Cup.
Bahrain are one of 43 national teams vying for 15 available spots in the qualifiers. The field has been divided into 10 groups, each of which is being played at a different host country.
At the end of a single round, the group winners and five best second-placers earn a place in the tournament proper, along with host nation Saudi Arabia.
The AFC U17 Asian Cup is scheduled to take place April 3 to 20 next year.
In last night’s game, Bahrain head coach Badr Khalil fielded a starting 11 that included Hasan Ali Albastaki in goal; Kumail Alsatrawi, Ali Ahmadi, Hassan Ali Marhoon, and Yahya Adel Yahya in defence; Ebrahim Ahmed Ayash, Jassem Kacem Benjemia, Ebrahim Alhassooni, Sayed Hasan Alalawi, and skipper Abdulrahman Awdi in midfield; and Ebrahim Aljaber up front.
The Bahrainis battled hard but conceded their first goal in the 37th minute when Su-yoon calmly converted a penalty. That was enough to give them the advantage at the half. Four minutes after the hour-mark, Ji-ho doubled the gap and virtually sealed the win for the South Koreans.
Bahrain’s loss came after they eked out a thrilling 1-0 victory over the Maldives on Monday earlier this week, which came after a 0-2 defeat to China in their opener.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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