FOOTBALL – Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic has called on the kingdom’s football fans to rally behind the senior men’s football national team as they get ready to compete in the highly anticipated Fifa Arab Cup 2025.
The Bahrainis secured their berth in the tournament proper after winning their one-off qualification contest against Djibouti 1-0 last week in Doha, Qatar.
They will now be playing in Group D in the competition’s preliminary stage, where they join defending champions Algeria, Iraq, and Sudan.
“Congratulations to my boys, they played a good game against Djibouti, and most important is that we qualified for the Arab Cup,” Talajic told the GDN following their match.
“I also have to say congratulations for all Bahrainis – we need support from your side for this tournament.
“Inshaallah, you will be with us. We are making all these games for the Bahraini people to be proud of us.
“Come on! All together for the kingdom!”
Matches in the Fifa Arab Cup 2025 kick off tomorrow with a pair of Group A fixtures.
Tunisia take on Syria at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium at 4pm, followed at 7.30pm by hosts Qatar facing Palestine at Al Bayt Stadium.
Bahrain only get their campaign underway on Wednesday when they face off with Iraq at 5.30pm at Stadium 974 in the Qatari capital.
They then face their Algerian counterparts on Saturday next week at Khalifa International Stadium, scheduled for a 4.30pm start, before playing their concluding Group D assignment against Sudan on December 9 at Education City Stadium, slated for an 8pm kick-off.
Group B is composed of Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Comoros, while Group C includes the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and Kuwait.
This year’s Fifa Arab Cup is its 11th edition and it is taking place for the second time under its current format organised by Fifa.
Talajic has had a 24-player squad for the tournament.
The roster includes Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Komail Al Aswad, Ali Madan, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Waleed Al Hayyam, 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, Ebrahim Al Khattal, and goalkeepers Ebrahim Luthfallah, Mohammed Algharabli and Omar Salem.
Amine Benaddi and Mahdi Humaidan are also in the team list.
They joined Bahrain’s squad in their first on-pitch training session following their qualifier against Djibouti, with Benaddi only now fully recovering from injury and Humaidan tied up with club commitments.
In the last edition of the Fifa Arab Cup in 2021, also held in Doha, Bahrain bowed out in the preliminaries after finishing their Group A campaign with just one point from three matches.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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