FOOTBALL – A 37-player preliminary list was announced yesterday for Bahrain’s senior men’s football national team that will kick off their preparations today ahead of their highly anticipated title-defence in the 27th Gulf Cup.
The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) published on social media the call-ups of head coach Dragan Talajic as they hold their first local training gathering this evening at the BFA pitches in Riffa.
The Bahrainis are one of eight nations set to compete in the popular regional competition, which is scheduled to be held from September 23 to October 6 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Talajic’s initial selections are headlined by Bahrain’s international stars Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Komail Al Aswad, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Ali Madan, Mahdi Humaidan, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Abdulla Alkhalasi, Waleed Al Hayyam, and returning goalkeeper Ebrahim Luthfallah, who has been sidelined the past several months due to injury.
The rest of the squad includes national team dependables Jassim Al Shaikh, Abbas Al Asfoor, Hamad Shamsan, Ahmed Bughammar, Hussain Abdulkarim, Ahmed Rabea, Hassan Alkarani, Saleh Alzubaidi, Omar Saber, Vincent Emmanuel, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Hashem Sayed Issa, Mohammed Alrumaihi, Ahmed Dhiya, Ebrahim Alkhattal, and Mohammed Abdulqayoom; and talented youngsters Khaled Al Khalaf, Bader Alasam, Hussain Zuhair, Abdulrahman Bassam, Ali Hussain, Ali Aldoseri, Adam Fareed, Abdulla Osama, and Sayed Ahmed Alwadaie, who flew the kingdom’s flag earlier this month in the AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers.
The preliminary line-up is rounded out by goalkeepers Godwill Chia Ndang, Omar Salem, and Mohammed Elgharably.
The BFA noted that a final Gulf Cup roster of an expected 26 players will be revealed on Thursday.
The following day, the nationals will enter a local camp at the Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence and Spa.
They are then scheduled to depart for Jeddah on Sunday next week for their final lead-up to this year’s tournament, also known as ‘Khaleeji 27’.
Bahrain’s players called up from Muharraq and Al Khalidya, along with overseas-based professional Marhoon, are not scheduled to participate in training until later this week due to their clubs’ commitments in the AFC Champions League Two.
Muharraq are set to take on Turkmenistan’s FC Arkadag away on Tuesday, while Khaldiya will host Uzbekistan’s PFC Nasaf on Wednesday at the National Stadium in Riffa.
Marhoon, on the other hand, will be competing with his team Kuwait SC in Abu Dhabi, also on Wednesday, against the UAE’s Al Wahda FC.
Bahrain are set to play in Group B for the Gulf Cup’s preliminary round alongside Qatar, the UAE, and Yemen, while Group A is composed of Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, and hosts Saudi.
The nationals kick off their repeat-title bid against Qatar on September 24, scheduled for a 9pm kick-off.
The Bahrainis will then face off with the UAE on September 27, also at 9pm, before completing this stage against Yemen on September 30, kicking off at 8.30pm.
All times are Bahrain, and all three games will be played at Jeddah’s Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium.
The Bahrainis will be hoping to finish amongst their group’s top two to advance to the semi-finals, slated for October 3.
The final will then be held on October 6 at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
Tickets for the tournament are now available via the GFF’s official ticketing website the-gff.com/tickets and through the GFF Tickets app.
Bahrain won the 26th Gulf Cup in January of 2025 after defeating Oman 2-1 in a thrilling final played in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
It was their second title in the competition, adding to their historic maiden triumph in the 24th edition in 2019.
Meanwhile, the BFA also unveiled the senior men’s national team’s all-new uniform, while announcing that Adidas is the kit supplier for ‘Khaleeji 27’.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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