FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN’S senior men’s football national team made a sensational winning start yesterday to their new era under Spanish head coach Felix Sanchez.
The kingdom’s squad outclassed their counterparts from Yemen 3-1 in their opening match of the 2026 CFA China Team Zhaoqing International Football Invitational Tournament in Zhaoqing, China.
Striker Abdulla Yusuf made a triumphant return to international duty by opening the Bahrainis’ account with a penalty. Star midfielders Komail Al Aswad and Mohammed Jassim Marhoon were also on target, earning their squad the resounding result at Zhaoqing New Area Sports Centre.
The game was the first of two for Bahrain in the four-nation friendly competition. They are next scheduled to face off with the host Chinese on Tuesday at the same venue, scheduled for a 3pm kick-off, Bahrain time.
China also had a positive opening to the event in yesterday’s other fixture, beating Malaysia 2-0. The Bahrainis and Malaysians will not be facing off in Zhaoqing.
Sanchez was making his first appearance on the sidelines in an official match for Bahrain yesterday. He was announced as the kingdom’s new head coach just last month following the departure of Croatian Dragan Talajic, and has been working with the senior men’s squad for just about two weeks.
Sanchez’s maiden starting line-up for Bahrain featured Godwill Chia Ndang between the goalposts; Mohammed Abdulqayoom, Abdulla Alkhalasi, Bader Alasam, Amine Benaddi, and Mohammed Adel in a five-man defence; Al Aswad, Marhoon, Ali Madan, and Abbas Al Asfoor in midfield; and Yusuf as the lone man up front.
Nineteen-year-old Alasam was one of three of the kingdom’s young internationals who were making their debuts at the senior men’s level, the Bahrain Football Association confirmed. The others were 20-year-old Saud Mohsen and 17-year-old Jassim Ben Jamea, who came on as substitutes.
The nationals had a promising start and were unlucky not to go ahead after only seven minutes as both Alkhalasi and Yusuf were denied on successive attempts from the face of goal.
The Bahrainis then conceded the game’s opener in the 22nd minute with a short stab from Yemen’s Abdulmajeed Sabarah off an assist from teammate Abdulwasea Al Matari.
But the kingdom’s representatives fought right back and were awarded with a spot kick in the 35th minute after Madan was fouled in the area by Yemen’s Nawaf Abdulla. Yusuf stepped forward to take the penalty and he sent the ball into the bottom-right corner, beating opposing goalkeeper Osamah Mokref, who had guessed the right way.
Al Aswad then put the Bahrainis in the driver’s seat right before the break with a stunning free-kick from around 30 yards out after a foul on Adel. Al Aswad hit a low, left-footed effort that bounced into the bottom-right of the net past Mokref.
After the re-start, Marhoon applied the finishing touch with a goal in the 72nd minute on a quick counter-attack. Alkhalasi had stolen possession away from Yemen in their own half and then raced down the pitch before passing to Marhoon on the left. The crafty playmaker charged into the area and made an attempt from an acute angle from close range – one that was helped into the net by a deflection from Yemen’s Hamza Al Surabi. That pegged the final score and the victory for Bahrain.
The nationals had originally planned to compete in the 2026 CFA China Team Zhaoqing International Football Invitational Tournament as part of their final preparations for the AFC Asian Cup 2027, but the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has decided to reschedule the prestigious tournament to December of 2027 and January of 2028 from its original dates in January and February of next year.
Sanchez has 30 players on his squad for the event. The others include Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Waleed Al Hayyam, Moses Atede, Omar Saber, Vincent Emmanuel, Hussain Abdulkarim, Ali Aldoseri, Ahmed Rabea, Ahmed Bughammar, Jassim Khelaif, Ahmed Alsherooqi, Hashem Sayed Issa, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Hazza Ali, Jassim Ben Jamea, Saud Mohsen, and goalkeepers Ebrahim Luthfallah, Omar Salem, and Mohammed Elgharably.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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