FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN head coach Dragan Talajic voiced his unwavering confidence in his players last night ahead of their match against Indonesia this evening in Asian qualifying for the Fifa World Cup 2026.
The Bahrainis are hoping to bounce back from a disheartening 0-5 loss to Japan in their previous game played at home last month – a result that drew plenty of criticism for the senior men’s national team.
But Talajic remained unfazed and has expressed his full faith in his squad.
“These are my boys,” Talajic said during his pre-game Press conference. “When we win, they are my boys; when we lose, they will still be my boys.
“I trust in them all the time, and we will show everyone to trust in us again.”
Tonight’s game is scheduled for a 7pm kick-off at the National Stadium in Riffa.
The Bahrainis head into the contest currently third in qualification Group C with three points, behind only Japan and Saudi Arabia, while Indonesia are fourth with two points, ahead of Australia and China.
Talajic reiterated that tonight’s game will not be an easy one, but Bahrain are ready to go for the full three points.
“We have prepared for this match the best way we can,” he said. “We are hoping to play a good game. It will not be easy, and we respect our opponent.
“They showed in their first two matches a nice way of playing and they conceded just one goal. It will be tough, but I believe in my boys and, with good support from the fans, inshaallah we will win.”
This evening’s fixture will be the first of two in less than a week for the nationals. They will be returning to action next Tuesday in Jeddah, when they face off with Saudi at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
Talajic stressed that there are no easy assignments in their group.
“Every single game is very tough,” he said. “We respect all our opponents, but we are not scared of anyone.
“We have to be realistic – this group is unbelievably tough. But we believe in ourselves, and we showed in the game with Australia that we can win against anyone.
“There is a long way to go in qualifying, and we will fight for every single point.”
Bahrain defender Amine Benaddi joined Talajic in yesterday’s Press conference. He said: “We play every single game for the three points. Maybe we had bad results before, but we will try tomorrow to get our best result.”
Meanwhile, Indonesia head coach Shin Tae-yong from South Korea said that they will be looking to continue their strong start to qualifying, which he said has given them a boost in morale.
“We’ve had two good matches – they were big results, two draws,” Tae-yong said through an interpreter during his pre-game Press conference yesterday. “It has raised our confidence and we continue to develop. We will be going into tomorrow’s game believing we will have a good result.”
Indonesia left-back Calvin Verdonk, who plays as a professional in the Netherlands, added: “Bahrain have good quality in the front, and I think we have to play aggressive and compact as a team.”
patrick@gdnmedia.bh