FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN are all set to take on Indonesia tomorrow in their latest assignment of round three in continental qualification for the Fifa World Cup 2026.
The game will be played at the National Stadium in Riffa and is scheduled for a 7pm kick-off.
The hosts continued their preparations last night with training at the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) pitches in Riffa, under the supervision of head coach Dragan Talajic.
The Bahrainis are scheduled to hold their final practice session this evening starting at 7.15pm at the match venue. Talajic will hold his pre-game Press conference at 6.45pm.
Indonesia will also train at the National Stadium this evening at 6pm. Their head coach Shin Tae-yong will meet with the media at 5.30pm.
The Indonesians have already been in Bahrain for a few days and have been training daily.
Tae-yong said that the weather in the kingdom has been relatively cool in the evenings and that his team have been able to train well.
“For the weather, it’s not a problem, it’s six in the evening and it’s cool,” he was quoted as saying on the Football Association of Indonesia website. “The match will take place at seven in the evening, Bahrain time. So the weather is not a problem for us.”
The Indonesians have a 27-player squad in Bahrain for tomorrow’s game.
Also taking place today will be the official pre-game technical meeting, to be attended by match officials and representatives from both teams. Their kits that will be worn by both sides will be presented at the gathering.
Bahrain are currently third in qualifying Group C behind leaders Japan and Saudi Arabia, while Indonesia follow in fourth, ahead of Australia and China.
Tomorrow’s fixture will be the national team’s third in this stage. It follows their historic 1-0 away victory over Australia and a disheartening 0-5 home defeat against Japan, both held last month.
The Indonesians, on the other hand, have been a surprise and pose a dangerous threat in the qualifiers. They held Saudi to a 1-1 draw in Jeddah and Australia to a goalless stalemate at home.
In other Group C contests tomorrow, Australia host China at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, South Australia, starting at 12.10pm, Bahrain time; and Saudi play at home against Japan at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, kicking off at 9pm, also Bahrain.
Following tomorrow’s clash, Bahrain will need to immediately shift their focus to their next match against Saudi, scheduled for Tuesday next week at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.
Talajic said that he has already drawn up their plans for that game but will remain fully focused on their task against the Indonesians for now.
“We have already prepared everything for Saudi but I want to teach my boys to think step by step,” Talajic told the GDN during a training session this week.
“Indonesia is a very important game for us. When we finish this, we have time – five days – to think about our next one, and prepare something for that. But we already have our plans set for the Saudi match.”
This stage of Asian qualifiers continues until June of next year. There are three groups in all. Group A features Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, the UAE, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea; while Group B is composed of South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait.
The top two finishers from each group will punch their tickets to the FIFA World Cup 2026. The third and fourth-placed squads will compete in a fourth round, where they will be divided into another two groups. There, the winners of each qualify for football’s global showpiece. The two second-placers will then square off in a home-and-away phase, with the victors marching forward to compete in an inter-continental play-off for one final available World Cup berth.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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