FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN kicked off their preparations yesterday for their concluding Group C fixture in the third round of Asian qualification for the Fifa World Cup 2026.
The Bahrainis have already bowed out of contention for a place in next year’s quadrennial showcase, but will be playing for pride when they take to the pitch on Tuesday at Chongqing Longxing Football Stadium.
The nationals held a training session yesterday at the Chongqing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium under the supervision of head coach Dragan Talajic. They will continue their practices this evening at the same venue.
The upcoming match is a non-bearing affair. Bahrain are on six points on the divisional table – tied with China but with a better goal difference.
Japan are in first place with 20 points despite suffering their first loss of this round of continental qualification against Australia last week. The Australians improved to 16 points and will face Saudi Arabia in their concluding game to officially confirm the second team from this pool that will join the Japanese as direct qualifiers for the Fifa World Cup 2026 finals.
The Saudis stayed in contention after improving to 13 points following their 2-0 triumph over the Bahrainis, while Indonesia follow in fourth place with 12 points.
Tuesday’s game is scheduled for a 2pm kick-off, Bahrain time. Saudi host Australia at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah at 9.15pm that same day, while Japan welcome Indonesia to Suita City Football Stadium in Suita in a 1.35pm match. Both times are also Bahrain.
Bahrain are in Chongqing with a squad that includes Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Komail Al Aswad, Ali Madan, Mahdi Abdulajbbar, Mahdi Humaidan, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Waleed Al Hayyam, Amine Benaddi, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Ebrahim Luthfallah, Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Abdulkarim Al Fardan, Ahmed Al Sherooqi, Hussain Abdulkarim, Hussain Al Eker, Ali Hazza, Hamad Shamsan, Ali Haram, Jassim Al Shaikh, Ismaeel Abdullatif, Ahmed Bughammar, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Vincent Emmanuel, Ebrahim Al Khattal, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaie, and Sayed Mahmood Al Mosawi
There are three groups in all in this third round of Asian 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 punch their tickets to the Fifa World Cup 2026 finals.
The third and fourth-placed squads will compete in a fourth round of Asian qualifiers.
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