FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN kick off their title bid in the 26th Gulf Cup tonight in Kuwait City.
The kingdom’s senior men’s football national team take on continental giants Saudi Arabia at Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium in the Kuwaiti capital at 8.30pm, Bahrain time.
The two teams are in Group B for the tournament’s preliminary round alongside Iraq and Yemen, who face off in the other divisional clash this evening at 5.25pm at Sulaibikhat Stadium.
In his pre-match Press conference yesterday, Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic spoke on the significance of the Gulf Cup and stressed on the importance of getting off to a good start.
“This is a big competition,” said the Croatian. “We have prepared the best way we can.
“The first game is difficult for both of us. We respect Saudi Arabia a lot and they play nice football. Inshaallah, you will see good football tomorrow and enjoy the game.”
Tonight’s clash will be the second time in just over two months that Bahrain and Saudi will be locking horns. The two sides also faced off in the third round of Asian qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 last October in Jeddah, which ended in a goalless stalemate.
The Saudis had a different coach then in departed Italian Roberto Mancini, who has since been replaced by Frenchman Herve Renard. Talajic knows what to expect from his counterpart, he says.
“Mancini is an excellent coach, but Renard is a great coach,” said Talajic. “I respect Renard, and was a big fan of his at the World Cup in Qatar where they beat Argentina. I know what approach he will take tomorrow so let’s see how we can respond.
“It will be a difficult game. Renard is playing a different way to Mancini. We know the Saudi players and they are excellent. We are preparing for it and will see what happens tomorrow.”
Talajic noted that this evening’s Gulf Cup affair will be a completely different scenario from their World Cup qualification head-to-head.
“These are two different competitions; we have players who know how to play football and we have reached a better level than we were at the beginning of the World Cup qualifiers,” he said. “I trust my players to play a nice game.
“I am not sure about the result, but we will play well, I am sure.”
Bahrain will be looking to repeat their lone Gulf Cup title success from 2019 this year and also improve on their finish from 2023 where they made it to the semi-finals.
“It was a nice memory for the national team – the first time,” said Talajic. “We will show tomorrow how well Bahrain can play.
“I have 26, 27 sons in this team and care for all of them.”
Talajic’s 26-player roster for this year’s Gulf Cup includes Komail Al Aswad, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Ali Madan, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Amine Benaddi, Mahdi Humaidan, Waleed Al Hayyam, Ebrahim Lutfhallah, Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Ismaeel Abdullatif, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Jassim Al Shaikh, Hazza Ali, Abdulwahab Al Malood, Mohammed Al Rumaihi, Ammar Mohammed, Hamad Shamsan, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Mohammed Adel, Vincent Emmanuel, Abbas Al Asfoor, Sayed Ahmed Al Wadaei, Ahmed Al Sherooqi, Ebrahim Al Khattal, and Hussain Abdulkarim.
Following tonight’s opener against Saudi, Bahrain face Iraq in a Christmas Day game on Wednesday, and then complete their group campaign against Yemen on Saturday.
The top two sides in each group at the end of a single round-robin will move on to the semi-finals on December 31. The winners of those games will then battle for the coveted title in the final on January 3.
The tournament champions will pocket $1million, while the runners-up will take home $750,000.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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