FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN’S senior men’s football national team continued the final stages of their preparations for their concluding two matches in the third round of Asian qualifiers for the Fifa World Cup 2026.
The nationals take on Gulf rivals Saudi Arabia at home on Thursday before completing their Group C campaign against China away on Tuesday next week.
The Bahrainis are already out of the running for a direct berth in next year’s Fifa World Cup finals, but are still in the running for third or fourth place in their division, which would see them advance to round four of continental qualifying.
Bahrain held a training session last night at Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium at Muharraq Club in Arad. It was supervised by national team head coach Dragan Talajic, who has named 26 players to his squad for the two games.
Saudi head coach Herve Renard has called up 34 players for the lead-up to their last two fixtures, which are against Bahrain and Australia.
The Bahrainis are currently fifth amongst the six Group C teams with six points – tied with the Chinese who are last. Undefeated Japan are top with 20 points and have already secured their spot in the Fifa World Cup 2026, followed by Australia with 13 points. Saudi are third with 10 points, while Indonesia are fourth on nine markers.
Bahrain’s game against Saudi on Thursday is scheduled for a 7pm kick-off. It will be the national team’s final appearance at home in this stage of Fifa World Cup qualification.
Entry for Bahraini fans in the general stands is free of charge, while VIP tickets are available at BD20 apiece. The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) launched the VIP ticket sales yesterday. They can be bought at the BFA headquarters until Thursday between 9am and 1pm and between 4pm and 6pm.
Category One tickets for Saudi fans are also available to purchase.
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