FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN named yesterday a 29-player squad for their two international friendly matches early next month against Gulf rivals Qatar and the UAE.
The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) announced the call-ups of senior men’s football national team head coach Dragan Talajic for their latest gathering, which includes their tune-up games against the Qataris in Doha on September 3 and the Emiratis in Dubai on September 8.
The Bahrainis are gearing up for their upcoming competitions, headlined by the Fifa Arab Cup 2025 this December, also to be held in the Qatari capital.
The two friendlies will be the nationals’ first international games since their disappointing exit from the third round of Asian qualifiers for the Fifa World Cup 2026 last June. They had also played a number of exhibitions against European clubs during their overseas training camp in Maribor, Slovenia, in July.
The kingdom’s squad are scheduled to begin their gathering locally on Saturday. They are then set to fly to Doha on Monday next week.
Many of the team members who were present at the camp are back on Talajic’s roster. The Croatian tactician has also called for the return of Mohammed Jassim Marhoon and Mohammed Al Rumaihi, both of whom did not join the Bahrainis in Maribor for different reasons.
The rest of the team list includes Amine Benaddi, Waleed Al Hayyam, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Ahmed Dhiya, Sayed Mahmoud Al Mosawi, Ahmed Bughammar, Hamad Shamsan, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Hussain Al Eker, Vincent Emmanuel, Hazza Ali, Hussain Jameel, Mahdi Humaidan, Ali Madan, Ahmed Al Sherooqi, Omar Saber, Jassim Al Shaikh, Komail Al Aswad, Abdulla Al Subaie, Hussain Abdulkarim, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Ebrahim Al Khattal, and goalkeepers Ebrahim Luthfallah, Mohammed Al Gharably, Abdulkarim Al Fardan, and Yousef Habib
Bahrain’s friendly in Qatar on September 3 will take place at Doha’s Al Thumama Stadium with a 6.15pm kick-off. Their following match against the Emiratis on September 8 will be held at Dubai’s Zabeel Stadium, scheduled for a 7.15pm kick-off. Both times are Bahrain.
Qatar and the UAE are currently ahead of Bahrain on the Ffia World Ranking. The Qataris are 53rd in the world and fifth in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), while the Emiratis are 65th overall and 10th in the continent. The Bahrainis are presently 89th on the Fifa World Ranking and 12th in the AFC.
Aside from this year’s Fifa Arab Cup, both Qatar and the UAE are also gearing up for round four of AFC qualifying for the Fifa World Cup 2026, which begins in October.
Prior to competing in the Fifa Arab Cup 2025, Bahrain must first play a qualifying game in November against Djibouti to secure their spot in the tournament proper’s group stage. The date and venue of the single-game contest has yet to be announced.
Should the Bahrainis win, they will be in Group D where they will join Algeria, Iraq, and either Lebanon or Sudan. Group A features competition hosts Qatar, Tunisia, Syria or South Sudan, and Palestine or Libya; Group B is composed of Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Oman or Somalia, and Yemen or Comoros; and Group C includes Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, and either Kuwait or Mauritania.
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