MANILA: BAHRAIN suffered a disappointing 1-2 defeat to the Philippines yesterday in their opening qualifying match for the 2018 Fifa World Cup and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Substitute Misagh Bahadoran and Javier Patino were on target for the victorious hosts, who scored both their goals within a decisive 10-minute span in the second half.
Bahadoran found the net first five minutes after the break, and then Patino doubled the Philippines’ advantage at the hour mark.
Bahrain tried valiantly to battle back but their efforts could only produce a lone consolation, scored by Abdulwahab Al Malood three minutes into stoppage time.
The match was the first for both teams in group ‘H’ of qualifying for both the World Cup and Asian Cup.
The other teams they will face are Uzbekistan, North Korea and Yemen.
There are eight groups in all in this phase of qualifying. All group winners plus the best four runners-up will advance to round three in Fifa World Cup qualification. Each of those teams will also earn automatic berths in the Asian Cup.
The result was an unwanted setback for recently signed Bahrain head coach Sergio Batista, as it was his first official match in charge of the national team.
Batista started a relatively strong side against the Philippines, with Sayed Mohammed Jaffar in goal, and the rest of the side made up of Waleed Al Hayam, Sayed Saeed, Abdulla Shallal, Abdulwahab Al Safi, Mohammed Tayeb, Abdulla Alhazza, Abdulla Ismail Omar, Sayed Ali Hashem, Faouzi Aaish and Al Malood.
In yesterday’s other group tie, tiny Guam beat Turkmenistan 1-0 to record their first ever World Cup qualifying victory in Group D.
Hosting their first ever World Cup match, the island nation in the North Pacific Ocean were gifted the only goal on the artificial turf at the National Training Centre after Serdar Annaorazov turned into his own net in the 14th minute.
The Turkmenistan player was credited with the final touch after the visitors allowed Ryan Guy’s long throw to bounce in their penalty area and cause havoc.
Guam, a US territory of less than 200,000 people that was beaten 16-0 by Tajikistan in their last World Cup match in 2000, went top of Group D with the historic win and have the chance to add a second when they host India on Tuesday.
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