FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN will kick off their highly anticipated title defence in the 27th Gulf Cup against Fifa World Cup 2026 participants and two-time reigning Asian champions Qatar.
The game will be played on the opening matchday of Group B on September 24 in the eight-nation tournament’s preliminary round. It will take place at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and it is scheduled for a 9pm start, Bahrain time.
The 27th Gulf Cup’s official schedule was confirmed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation following the draw ceremony conducted in Jeddah on Tuesday.
The Bahrainis and Qataris are in Group B along with the UAE and Yemen, while Group A is composed of Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, and hosts Saudi.
Following their opening fixture against Qatar, the nationals are scheduled to take on the UAE on September 27, also at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, at 9pm. They will then complete their opening stage campaign against Yemen on September 30 at the same venue, in a contest scheduled to kick off at 8.30pm. Both times are Bahrain.
At the end of a single round-robin, the top two from each pool will march through to the semi-finals, which are set for October 3. The final will then be held on October 6 at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, where the newest Gulf Cup champions will be crowned.
Bahrain’s senior men’s football national team head coach Dragan Talajic was on hand for this week’s draw in Jeddah.
The Croatian expressed his pride in representing the kingdom at the gathering. He added: “I’m also so proud to represent my boys, who made the last Gulf Cup an unbelievable thing, and inshaallah we will try to repeat in Saudi Arabia.”
This year’s Gulf Cup will be its 27th edition and it is also known as ‘Khaleeji 27’.
Bahrain were the champions of the previous tournament held in December of 2024 and January of 2025, when they defeated Oman 2-1 in the final to capture their second title in Gulf Cup history, adding to their maiden crown in 2019.
Bahrain are scheduled to kick off their latest training gathering tonight in preparation for the event, as well as for the AFC Asian Cup 2027, which will be taking place in January and February of next year.
Talajic has called up 30 players for this practice period, which will see the nationals play two international friendly matches in Europe as part of their overseas camp in early June. The Bahrainis will first take on Georgia’s senior men’s national team on June 5 at Mikheil Maski Stadium in Tbilisi, and then face off with Syria’s senior men’s squad on June 9 at Gloria Sports Arena in Antalya, Türkiye.
For this gathering, Talajic has called up 30 players, including Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Komail Al Aswad, Ali Madan, Mahdi Humaidan, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Amine Benaddi, Waleed Al Hayyam, Abdulla Alkhalasi, Sayed Mahmoud Almosawi, Hassan Alkarani, Hashem Sayed Issa, Ebrahim Alkhattal, Ahmed Bughammar, Mohammed Abdulqayoom, Saleh Alzubaidi, Ali Al Doseri, Hussain Abdulkarim, Ahmed Rabeea, Ahmed Dhiya, Hamad Al Shamsan, Vincent Emmanuel, Abbas Al Asfoor, Mohammed Al Rumaihi, Sayed Mahdi Sharaf, Omar Saber, and goalkeepers Omar Salem, Mohammed Elgharably, Abdulla Efrih Alahmed, and Godwill Chia Ndang.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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