FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN have parted ways with senior men’s football national team head coach Dragan Talajic and his staff.
The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) announced last night that it has terminated the contract of the kingdom’s top technical team by mutual agreement between the two parties.
The BFA said in a statement that the BFA board extends its thanks and appreciation to Talajic and his team for their efforts during the past period, and wished them success in their future endeavours.
The BFA added that it will, in the coming period, look into a number of potential candidates to select a new technical staff, particularly with major tournaments coming up, including the AFC Asian Cup 2027 in Saudi Arabia, to be held next January.
The BFA’s decision comes following Bahrain’s early exit from the 27th Gulf Cup, where they were defending the historic crown they won in the previous edition of the competition held in December of 2024 and January of 2025.
The nationals lost all three of their games in the competition’s preliminary round to Qatar, the UAE, and Yemen, resulting in the wide speculation of Talajic’s exit.
The three defeats were part of an alarming losing streak for the kingdom’s senior men’s national team ever since their 26th Gulf Cup triumph.
Ever since the event, they were booted out of the continental qualifying competition for the Fifa World Cup 2026, losing their remaining games against Japan, Indonesia, Saudi, and China.
They then suffered defeats in three of four friendly games leading up to the Fifa Arab Cup 2025 in Doha, Qatar, where they triumphed in their qualifying contest but then lost two of their three group games, dropping out of the tournament.
Talajic was named head coach of Bahrain in February of 2024. The highlight of his time with the senior men’s national team was their 26th Gulf Cup triumph, which was their second title in the history of the event.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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