FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN’S senior men’s football national team must come together and give “more than 100 per cent” this evening when they take on defending champions Algeria in their second Group D fixture in the Fifa Arab Cup 2025, currently being held in Doha, Qatar.
The Bahrainis and Algerians clash at Khalifa International Stadium at 4.30pm, and both teams are in need of a victory.
The nationals are coming off a 1-2 defeat against Iraq in their opening fixture on Wednesday earlier this week, while Algeria also dropped points in a goalless draw against Sudan.
Ahead of today’s game, Bahrain lost the services of star goalkeeper Ebrahim Luthfallah and crafty playmaker Ebrahim Al Khattal. Lutfhallah suffered a knee injury early in their defeat against the Iraqis and needed to be stretchered off the pitch, while Al Khattal was given a red card in second-half stoppage time for a head-butt against an Iraqi opponent – which has resulted in a three-game suspension handed by Fifa.
Talajic said that, in light of these setbacks, his players must give their maximum – and more – against some challenging opposition.
“It is a very tough game in front of us,” Talajic said yesterday in his pre-game Press conference. “We respect Algeria too much. We need to win and they also need to win – that means it will be a really hard game for both of us, and inshaallah, luck will be more on our side.
“Algeria are a very good team. We have some problems – we have Al Khattal, who made a mistake and is now banned for three games, and we also lost our goalkeeper.
“Thank God, our medical staff did a good job with him at the same moment [of the injury], and what the doctor of Fifa said is the same as what our medical staff did. Ebrahim will not need an operation, but will need long treatment and he will be back.
“These two guys are important for us – just like everyone is. We are a small family – everyone is important. But we will give more than 100 per cent, also for these two boys, to make a good game for our kingdom and for our people – with full respect for Algeria.”
Talajic highlighted the importance of playing well from the opening kick to the very last whistle – something he admits they did not do in their loss to Iraq.
“We came into the game too much nervous – we were not like how we usually are, especially in the first half,” Talajic explained. “But I am the coach and I am always thinking positive things, and we learned from our mistakes. We made a lot of mistakes in the first half, but the second half was a different story.
“We had a meeting and I spoke with my boys, and they really showed what they can do, but we were unlucky. And we must play properly for 90 minutes, not just 45 minutes. We scored one goal but we could not catch them.
“We have to fully concentrate from the first until the last second, especially when we play against a team like Iraq or Algeria, and even Sudan. We have to fight for each other.”
To make up for Luthfallah’s unavailability, Talajic has called on goalkeeper Yousif Habib to join the Fifa Arab Cup squad.
The nationals held a training session yesterday ahead of today’s contest. In attendance were Bahrain Football Association vice-president Shaikh Khalifa bin Ali Al Khalifa, along with BFA board members Shaikh Ahmed bin Isa Al Khalifa, Shaikh Salman bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, Mohammed Rashdan, and Rashid Al Zayani. Qatar’s Sports and Youth Minister Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani visited the practice session and met Shaikh Khalifa.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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