FOOTBALL – Bahrain missed out on securing a berth in the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2027 last night.
The kingdom’s under-20 men’s football national team wrapped up their qualification bid with a disheartening 1-3 loss against Afghanistan in a must-win contest at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town.
Defender Abdulla Osama Ebrahim scored the home side’s lone goal.
They conceded once in the first half and then twice more after the break as they suffered their second successive defeat while signing off from the qualifiers.
The result dropped Bahrain to last place in Group D with three points from their narrow 3-2 win against Tajikistan in their opening contest.
Tajikistan and Jordan both made it out of the division and punched their tickets to next year’s continental showcase.
Tajikistan defeated Jordan 1-0 in yesterday’s other clash played at the same venue, earning them the top spot on the Group D table.
Both teams finished on six points apiece, with Tajikistan taking first place based on a head-to-head tie-break.
Afghanistan came third, ahead of Bahrain, with both teams on three markers.
The Afghans also benefited from yesterday’s head-to-head result.
Thirty-two under-20 men’s national teams from across the continent took part in the qualifiers, which came to a close yesterday.
They were divided into eight groups, with the winners from each clinching their places at next year’s showcase in China alongside the seven best runners-up.
With last night’s loss, Bahrain have come up short of qualifying for the AFC U20 Asian Cup for its fourth straight edition.
The nationals’ last appearance was in 2016, when they made it through to the quarter-finals.
Afghanistan took the lead yesterday when skipper Habibullah Hotak scored after just seven minutes.
He stole the ball away from Bahrain’s Bader Alasam, and then outmuscled opposing defender Adam Fareed before firing in from the left of the box, past Bahrain custodian Abdulla Abdo.
The Bahrainis then came close to striking back 20 minutes later when Ali Mahran hit a fine volley from close range, but it flew inches over the crossbar.
After the re-start, the nationals equalised on the hour mark when Ebrahim headed in off a corner kick.
He rose above the Afghani defence and made just enough contact with the ball to send it into the left of goal, past opposing goalkeeper Abdul Hadi Koofi.
Bahrain were then dealt a major blow when Afghanistan regained the lead in the 71st minute following a goal from substitute Yaser Safi.
He hit a curling, left-footed effort from just inside the area, taking advantage of the space he was given.
Afghanistan then shattered the nationals’ qualifying hopes when Farzad Tajik, also a substitute, added their third five minutes from full time.
He was released for a one-on-one with Abdo on a headed pass by Mohammad Zarif Amini following some poor Bahrain defending.
Tajik then rounded Abdo and guided the ball into an empty net.
Qualifying for the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2027 as group winners along with Tajikistan were South Korea, Uzbekistan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Japan, and Indonesia, while the runners-up to make it through alongside Jordan were Lebanon, Oman, Iran, Thailand, India, and Malaysia.
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