FOOTBALL – Bahrain take on Djibouti this afternoon in a one-off qualifying match for a berth in the group stage of the Fifa Arab Cup 2025.
The game is set to be played at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, and it is scheduled for a 4pm kick-off.
The winners will get the opportunity to compete in this year’s edition of the Fifa Arab Cup, which is also to be held in the Qatari capital.
They will be placed in Group D, where they join defending champions Algeria, Iraq, and either Lebanon or Sudan, who are also in action in a qualifier this evening at Doha’s Al Gharafa Stadium, kicking off at 7pm.
In other battles today, Oman take on Somalia and Comoros face Yemen for two available spots in Group B.
In qualification action yesterday, Kuwait earned their place in the Fifa Arab Cup’s Group C after defeating Mauritania 2-0.
Syria ousted South Sudan 2-0 and Palestine won 4-3 in a penalty shootout against Libya to punch their tickets into Group A.
Bahrain will not only be looking to march through to the tournament proper, but they will also hope to halt a disappointing run this year, which came after winning the title in the 26th Gulf Cup in January.
Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic has had a 24-player squad gearing up for this evening’s clash.
The nationals are spearheaded by their top international regulars Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Komail Al Aswad, Ali Madan, Mahdi Humaidan, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Waleed Al Hayyam, Amine Benaddi, and star goalkeeper Ebrahim Luthfallah.
The rest of the team includes Hussain Al Eker, Ahmed Bughammar, Vincent Emmanuel, Sayed Mahmoud Al Mosawi, Hazza Ali, Mohammed Adel, Sayed Redha Isa, Jassim Al Shaikh, Omar Saber, Sayed Hashem Isa, Mohammed Al Rumaihi, and Ebrahim Al Khattal, along with goalkeepers Mohammed Algharabli and Omar Salem.
Talajic supervised a final training session last night, during which he conducted a full-field scrimmage.
Bahrain Football Association vice-president Shaikh Khalifa bin Ali bin Isa Al Khalifa attended the practice.
He spoke with the players and coaching staff and encouraged them to give their maximum effort in today’s contest.
Also in Group A in the Fifa Arab Cup’s preliminary round are Qatar and Tunisia, while the other teams already in Group B are Morocco and Saudi Arabia. Group C also features the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan.
This year’s Fifa Arab Cup will be its 11th edition and it is taking place for the second time under its current format organised by Fifa.
The last edition in 2021, also held in Doha, saw the Algerians claim the title after defeating Tunisia 2-0 after extra-time.
Bahrain bowed out in the preliminaries after finishing their Group A campaign with just one point from three matches.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))