FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN named yesterday a 24-player squad for their latest training gathering, which include two international friendlies, during Fifa’s upcoming international break, which kicks off on Monday next week.
The kingdom’s senior men’s football national team will be taking to the pitch against African giants Morocco and Egypt during this period. The games will be part of their latest preparations for their upcoming competitions, headlined by the Fifa Arab Cup 2025 this November and December in Doha, Qatar.
The call-ups of Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic include mostly the national team’s mainstays, spearheaded by top stars Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Komail Al Aswad, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Mohammed Al Rumaihi, Mahdi Humaidan, Waleed Al Hayyam, Amine Benaddi, Abdulla Al Khalasi, and goalkeeper Ebrahim Luthfallah.
The rest of the roster features Hamad Shamsan, Ahmed Bughammar, Sayed Mahmood Al Mosawi, Hazza Ali, Hussain Jameel, Vincent Emmanuel, Sayed Mahdi Sharaf, Jassim Al Shaikh, Omar Saber, Hussain Abdulkarim, Abdulla Al Subaie, and Ebrahim Al Khattal, along with goalkeepers Yousef Habib and Mohammed Elgharably.
The line-up was announced yesterday by the Bahrain Football Association (BFA).
One of the key talents missing from Talajic’s list is Ali Madan, who is still nursing an injury he suffered while on international duty earlier this month, according to a team official.
The Bahrainis’ two friendly games are to be played in Rabat. The first against their Moroccan counterparts is scheduled for October 9, while their next tune-up against Egypt’s national team will be three days later on October 12. The two fixtures have been confirmed by the BFA and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
The Bahrainis are scheduled to travel directly to the Moroccan capital early morning on Monday, and will no longer be having a local gathering prior to their departure, the official told the GDN last night.
Morocco and Egypt are also set to compete in this year’s Fifa Arab Cup. They are powerhouses in the Confederation of African Football and will give Bahrain a good test in the friendlies.
The Moroccans are currently 11th on the Fifa World Ranking and first in the CAF, while Egypt are 35th in the world and third in Africa. Bahrain, on the other hand, are 88th in the world and are 12th in the Asian Football Confederation.
Prior to competing in the Fifa Arab Cup 2025, Bahrain must first play a qualifying game against Djibouti. That has been set for November 26, with the match to be played at Doha’s Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. It is scheduled for a 4pm kick-off, Bahrain time. The winners will secure their spot in the tournament proper’s group stage, which kicks off on December 1.
Should the Bahrainis win, they will be in Group D where they will join Algeria, Iraq, and either Lebanon or Sudan, who also play in a qualifier on November 26.
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 the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and either Kuwait or Mauritania.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))