Bahrain will play Palestine in a friendly match at the Muharraq Stadium tonight.
The two teams have faced off against each other on seven previous occasions, with both winning three games each and one match – the last time they met in March, 2018 – ending in a goalless draw.
Bahrain’s Portuguese coach Helio Sousa assembled a 25-man squad last week which has been training hard under his supervision for today’s game and another friendly match against Syria that will take place on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Palestine coach, the Tunisian, Markram Daboub has chaperoned a 23-member squad to the island.
The visitors arrived in Bahrain last Wednesday with six uncapped players, including three born since the start of the century, bringing a youthful flavour to the mix which contains seasoned players but also, notably, features the absence of veterans Oday Dabbagh, Abdelatif Bahdari, Mohammed Darweesh and Naim Abu Aker.
Bahrain, meanwhile, will have the services of Ali Madan, who has come over for national duty from Ajman club in the UAE, and Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, who took a return flight from Kuwait where he was playing for Kuwait SC.
Mahdi Humaidan, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Ebrahim Al Khattal and veteran goalkeeper Sayed Mohammed Jaafar will also bring much-needed experience and skill to the playing eleven.
Tonight’s game and the one to follow against Syria will be the first time the Bahrain team will be seen in action since taking part in the 25th Arab Gulf Cup last January.
The game will kick off at 9.30pm.
The squads:
Bahrain
Ali Madan, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Ahmed Bughammar, Mahdi Humaidan, Mohammed Adel, Mohammed Hardan, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Ahmed Nabeel, Ammar Abbas, Ebrahim Al Khattal, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Mahdi Abdullatif, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Amine Hasan, Hamza Juban, Waleed Al Hayyam, Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Abbas Fadhel, Ebrahim Al Luthfallah, Omar Salem, Hussein Ali Abdulla
Palestine
Ramai Hamadi, Amr Kaddoura, Baraa Kharoub, Michel Termanini, Yaser Hamed Mayor, Mohammed Saleh, Mohammed Khalil, El-Mehdi Issa, Sajed Ghoul, Musab Al Battat, Musa Farawi, Ameed Sawafta, Samer Jondi, Mohammed Rashid, Odai Kharoub, Mohammed Yamin, Jonathan Cantillana, Tamer Seyam, Samir Maarouf, Wajdi Nabhan, Mahmoud Abu Warda, Islam Batran, Mahmoud Wadi
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