Coach confident as Bahrainis begin crucial Group D qualification quest for next year’s AFC U20 Asian Cup
FOOTBALL – Hosts Bahrain kick off Group D action today in the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
The kingdom’s junior men’s football national team are one four squads set to battle it out from this evening until Sunday next week, with the hopes of taking one of two potential spots from their pool at next year’s continental showcase, to be held in China from March 24 to April 10.
Bahrain are competing in their division along with Tajikistan, Jordan, and Afghanistan.
Matches are to be played at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town over three gamedays.
The opening day programme this evening sees Jordan and Afghanistan face off in the early fixture kicking off at 5pm.
It will be followed by the home team locking horns with Tajikistan at 8.30pm.
Bahrain have a 23-player roster in the qualifiers.
They are to be guided by head coach Ali Aamer, who is a former senior men’s football national team and Muharraq Club star midfielder.
Speaking in his pre-game Press conference last night, Aamer expressed that he is hopeful of successfully qualifying for next year’s AFC U20 Asian Cup.
He acknowledged that their group is evenly matched, and the pressure the team will be facing is normal, which they will deal with appropriately.
Aamer highlighted that Bahrain have a distinguished mix of players, including some who have experience in the kingdom’s top flight, and added that they look forward to the support of Bahraini fans throughout the qualifiers.
The national team list includes Hussain Zuhair, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaie, Amjad Jaafar, Khaled Ahmed, Bader Hussain, Khaled Alkhalaf, Mubarak Fawaz, Mohammed Salah, Khaled Alkhaldi, Adam Fareed, Jassim Qasem, Abdulrahman Bassam, Ali Mehran, Karrar Huwaida, Ahmed Nasser, Ahmed Almuraisi, Komail Alsitrawi, Abdulla Osama, Ali Hussain, Mohammed Aljazzaf, and goalkeepers Abdulla Ahmed, Hassan Albastaki, and Hussain Ebrahim.
Qualifying’s other two matchdays are set for Thursday and Sunday.
At the end of this phase, Bahrain must be amongst the top pair on the Group D standings to have a chance to qualify for the 43rd edition of the AFC U20 Asian Cup.
The kingdom’s representatives are one of 32 junior men’s national teams in the qualifiers.
The field has been divided into eight groups of four, with each pool’s games being held at a centralised location.
Following a single round-robin, the eight group winners and the seven best second-placers will punch their tickets to next year’s tournament finals.
The other hosts in qualifying are Kyrgyzstan for Group A, Uzbekistan for Group B, Vietnam for Group C, Qatar for Group E, Thailand for Group F, Cambodia for Group G, and Laos for Group H.
Also in preparation for today’s start of play, the official pre-competition technical meeting took place yesterday, attended by the qualifiers’ local organising committee chairman Mohammed Hussain, along with representatives from the participating nations, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the Bahrain Football Association.
Bahrain’s officials on hand were team manager Turki Abdulla, team administrator Mohammed Al Jabouri, and team doctor Hussain Al Aradi.
During the meeting, all administrative and organisational matters for the matches were reviewed, including the national teams’ kits, which were presented and approved.
The kingdom’s squad will be wearing their red uniforms in all three of their games.
Following their contest against Tajikistan this evening, Bahrain next take on Jordan on Thursday.
They then complete their qualification bid against Afghanistan on the concluding day of action on Sunday.
The two matches are also scheduled to kick off at 8.30pm.
The nationals are looking to qualify for the AFC U20 Asian Cup for the 10th time in the tournament’s history.
They first competed in 1973 and last in 2016, but have missed the previous three editions.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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