FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN were last night drawn in a tough Group B for the upcoming 26th edition of the Gulf Cup – the region’s most prestigious football tournament.
The kingdom’s senior men’s squad will be going up against Iraq, Yemen and Saudi Arabia in the preliminary round of the eight-nation competition, which is scheduled to be held from December 21 to January 3 in Kuwait City.
The draw took place last night, supervised by the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF), at Waldorf Astoria Kuwait.
Group A features hosts Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, and Qatar.
Bahrain Football Association (BFA) president Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and BFA vice-president Shaikh Khalifa bin Ali bin Isa Al Khalifa attended the ceremony representing the kingdom.
A number of key officials from the AGCFF and participating national federations were also on hand.
According to the tournament format, the top two sides in each pool at the end of the single round-robin will move on to the semi-finals. The winners of those games will then play for the coveted title.
Bahrain were champions of the Gulf Cup in 2019, which was the kingdom’s first and only title to date.
In the competition’s previous edition in 2023, held in Basra, Iraq, the Bahrainis made it to the semis but lost to eventual runners-up Oman 0-1. The Iraqis won the crown and head into this year’s event as the defending champions.
Bahrain and Qatar were the losing semi-finalists but a game for third place was not held.
Kuwait have claimed the Gulf Cup the most times in its history with 10 titles. Iraq follow with four while Saudi and Qatar have each claimed the coveted trophy thrice. The UAE and Oman have two titles apiece.
Meanwhile, the kingdom’s senior men’s squad continued to gear up for their upcoming matches this month in the third round of Asian qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The Bahrainis will be taking on China on Thursday and then be facing off with Australia on November 19.
The nationals are preparing for their latest assignments with local training under the supervision of head coach Dragan Talajic.
Bahrain are currently fourth on their six-team Group C table. Japan are in first place with 10 points, while Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain are all tied on five points apiece. Indonesia and China complete the standings with three points each.
The national team’s roster for their upcoming clashes include Amine Benaddi, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Waleed Al Hayyam, Ammar Mohammed, Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Ebrahim Luthfallah, Abbas Al Asfoor, Ahmed Nabeel, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Abdulwahab Al Malood, Hussain Abdulkarim, Moses Atede, Ali Haram, Ahmed Al Sherooqi, Ali Madan, Hazza Ali, Hamad Shamsan, Jassim Al Shaikh, Mahdi Humaidan, Vincent Emmanuel, Ismaeel Abdullatif, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Komail Al Aswad, Sayed Ahmed Al Wadaei, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, and Ebrahim Al Khattal.
Bahrain’s match with the Chinese later this week is scheduled for a 5pm kick-off, while their game against the Australians will be getting underway at 9.15pm, both at the National Stadium in Riffa.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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