FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN’S senior men’s football national team kicked off their latest training gathering last night ahead of their next two matches in the third round of Asian qualification for the Fifa World Cup 2026.
Head coach Dragan Talajic has called up 27 players for international duty as they prepare to host China and Australia this month in a pair of crucial Group C fixtures, both to be held at the National Stadium in Riffa.
They first face the Chinese on Thursday next week and then take on Australia on November 19.
The Bahrainis held their opening training session of this period under Talajic’s supervision yesterday at the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) pitches in Riffa.
The nationals are currently fourth on their six-team table. Japan are in first place with 10 points, while Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain are all tied on five points apiece. Indonesia and China complete the standings with three points each.
Bahrain’s squad list for the upcoming clashes include Amine Benaddi, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Waleed Al Hayyam, Ammar Mohammed, Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Ebrahim Luthfallah, Abbas Al Asfoor, Ahmed Nabeel, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Abdulwahab Al Malood, Hussain Abdulkarim, Moses Atede, Ali Haram, Ahmed Al Sherooqi, Ali Madan, Hazza Ali, Hamad Shamsan, Jassim Al Shaikh, Mahdi Humaidan, Vincent Emmanuel, Ismaeel Abdullatif, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Komail Al Aswad, Sayed Ahmed Al Wadaei, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, and Ebrahim Al Khattal.
The Bahrainis’ match with the Chinese next week is scheduled for a 5pm kick-off, while their game against the Australians will be getting underway at 9.15pm.
There are three groups in all in this round of continental qualifiers. Group A features Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, the UAE, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea; while Group B is composed of South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait.
The top two finishers from each group will punch their tickets to the FIFA World Cup 2026. The third and fourth-placed squads will compete in a fourth round.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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