FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN’S senior men’s football national team will kick off their latest training gathering on May 21.
This was revealed yesterday to the GDN by a national team official, who said that their upcoming programme will begin locally before they travel to Europe for a pair of international friendly games next month.
The kingdom’s squad will be practising under the supervision of Croatian head coach Dragan Talajic and his staff. As part of their schedule, they will play a training game on May 25, after which they will have a three-day break from May 26 to 28 to mark Eid Al Adha.
The Bahrainis will then have three more days of sessions in the kingdom before flying to Tbilisi, Georgia, where they will continue their programme ahead of their planned tune-up against their Georgian counterparts on June 5. That will be played at Mikheil Maski Stadium in the Georgian capital and slated for a 9pm kick-off, Bahrain time.
The nationals will then have a friendly game against another formidable opponent in Syria on June 9, to be held at Gloria Sports Arena in Antalya, Türkiye. The contest is set for a 5pm kick-off, Bahrain time.
The nationals will be playing the two exhibition games as part of their preparations for their future competitions, headlined by the 27th Gulf Cup – which they will be entering as defending champions – scheduled for later this year, and the AFC Asian Cup 2027, set for early next year.
The 27th Gulf Cup is slated for September 23 to October 6 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the participation of eight teams – Qatar, Iraq, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Yemen, hosts Saudi, and Bahrain.
The draw for the event will be on May 19 in Jeddah, the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation has announced. Talajic is expected to attend the ceremony along with Bahrain Football Association board member Shaikh Ahmed bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The Bahrainis won the tournament’s previous edition held from December of 2024 to January of 2025. It was the kingdom’s second Gulf Cup crown in the history of the event, adding to their historic maiden title in 2019.
Meanwhile, Bahrain were drawn on Saturday night in a challenging Group B for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 along with North Korea, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.
The nationals are scheduled to kick off their tournament campaign on January 8 next year against the North Koreans. They then face their Jordanian counterparts on January 13, before completing the preliminary stage against their Uzbek rivals on January 17.
Bahrain are part of a 24-nation field in the prestigious Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competition. Group A features Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, and hosts Saudi; Group C includes Iran, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, and China; Group D is composed of Australia, Tajikistan, Iraq, and Singapore; Group E comprises South Korea, the UAE, Vietnam, and either Lebanon or Yemen; and Group F features Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and defending champions Qatar.
The top two sides from each group and the four best third-placed teams will advance to the round of 16, which will be played between January 22 and 25. The quarter-finals are scheduled for January 28 and 29, with the semi-finals on February 1 and 2.
Bahrain will be participating in the AFC Asian Cup for the eighth time, including for the seventh straight edition.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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