FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN’S women’s football national team take on their counterparts from Bangladesh today in their opening match in Group C of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers.
The Bahrainis are looking to secure an historic first-ever berth in the prestigious Asian Football Confederation (AFC) women’s competition, which is set to take place in March of next year in Australia.
Their game today is scheduled for a 3.30pm kick-off, Bahrain time, and it will be played at Thuwunna Stadium in the city of Yangon.
Speaking yesterday during his pre-qualifiers Press conference, Bahrain head coach Mohammed Adnan said his team is ready for the tough challenge ahead. “Our preparation was good,” Adnan said. “We had only a short period for training and we played some friendly games.
“Our team is mixed now with young players and some senior players. Hopefully we can play in a good way. We always respect other teams, and the football in Asia is at a very high level.”
Adnan has selected a 21-player squad for the Myanmar competition. They will be led by top women’s national teams stars Hassa Al Issa, Shaikha Alanood Al Khalifa, Manar Ebrahim Yaqoob, Khulood Saleh, Amira Sowar, and Leleya Sabkar, among others. The rest of the roster features Rawan Alali, Fatema Alnesuf, Sama Alqasem, Farah Jehad Khaled, Eman Alkhattal, Alyaa Almudhahki, Jawahar Likmani, Shawq Al Alwani, Fatema Salman Ali, Noor Al Aradi, Munair Ahmed, Amina Mubarak, Yasmin Al Yaqoubi, Shawq Fares, and Noor Marzouk.
The nationals are also set to face off with Turkmenistan and hosts Myanmar in their group. They play Turkmenistan on Wednesday before clashing with Myanmar in their concluding fixture on Saturday. Both those contests are scheduled for 12.30pm starts, Bahrain time, at the same venue.
The Bahraini women held a training session yesterday, under Adnan’s supervision, in preparation for today’s clash.
Bahrain are one of 34 countries competing in qualifying, divided into eight groups. Each is being held at a centralised location, and the group winners will all punch their tickets to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026. They will join the four nations already with a berth in the event, including Australia who have a spot as hosts, along with China, South Korea, and Japan, who were the top three from the tournament’s previous edition held in 2022.
Group A features hosts Jordan, Iran, Lebanon, Singapore, and Bhutan; Group B is composed of hosts Thailand, India, Mongolia, Timor-Leste, and Iraq; Group D comprises hosts Indonesia, Chinese Taipei, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan; Group E features hosts Vietnam, Guam, the UAE, and the Maldives; Group F is composed of hosts Uzbekistan, Nepal, Laos, and Sri Lanka; Group G comprises hosts Cambodia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia; and Group H includes hosts Tajikistan, North Korea, Malaysia, and Palestine.
The AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 will be the 21st edition of the quadrennial competition.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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