FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat against Saudi Arabia last night in their opening match of the AGCFF U17 Gulf Cup 2025, currently being played in Doha, Qatar.
The Bahrainis gave up three goals in the first half alone – including two in the first eight minutes by Waleed Ali. Sabri Dahal added Saudi’s third a minute before the break at Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in the Qatari capital, and Bahrain could not recover.
The nationals were lucky to concede only once more after the re-start as Saudi continued to press. Ali completed his hat-trick in the 56th minute and maintained their commanding margin until the final whistle.
The result put Bahrain at the bottom of the Group B table after one match day.
In the other divisional fixture yesterday, Iraq and Kuwait played to a 1-1 stalemate. Both teams thus came away with a share of the points.
Bahrain, coached by Croatian tactician Ugo Klingor, will be looking to bounce back on Tuesday when they take on Iraq at 8pm. They then complete their preliminary round schedule against Kuwait on Friday at 6pm. Both matches are Bahrain time, and they will be played at the same venue.
Following this stage, the top two teams from each group move on to the semi-finals.
The eight-nation regional tournament, organised by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF), continues until October 2. Group A features the UAE, Oman, Yemen, and hosts Qatar.
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