Bahrain's Gulf Cup-winning head coach Dragan Talajic says to expect a different and more united senior men’s national team in their remaining four matches in the third round of Asian qualification for the Fifa World Cup Finals 2026.
In an exclusive interview with GDN Media, the Croatian tactician stresses that his players have grown tremendously since he took over the squad almost one year ago, and it showed in their historic triumph in the 26th Gulf Cup in Kuwait at the beginning of the year.
Talajic highlights that they are now ready to translate their regional success to an even bigger accomplishment in making it to next year’s Fifa World Cup Finals – despite the odds stacked against them as they head into qualifying’s home stretch.
“The Gulf Cup is finished – we made a good result and I am proud of my boys, but now what is coming is four games where we determine our destiny,” Talajic told the GDN.
“In these four games, we have to show the people that we are ready for something or we are not ready. I trust in my boys, and I am sure a million per cent that we are ready and we are capable of making our achievement to fight for the World Cup.”
Bahrain are one of six teams in qualification Group C who are battling for a berth in next year’s worldwide showcase. They are currently in fifth place on the table, but are tied with three others on six points apiece, including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and China. All four squads are just a single point behind Australia, while Japan are the runaway leaders on 16 points and all teams left with four matches to play.
“We are not scared about anyone,” Talajic said. “We are one group who trusts in ourselves, who trusts in our work, and we will continue to work hard. Inshaallah in four games, we will show everyone that we are ready to make our dream to be true.”
Bahrain are back on the pitch on March 20 when they take on the Japanese away at Saitama Stadium 2002. They then go up against Indonesia on March 25 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. Their final two assignments will then be at home against Saudi on June 5, and then away in China on June 10.
The Bahrainis must finish amongst the top two in Group C to book an automatic berth in the Fifa World Cup Finals 2026. They can also finish third or fourth to keep their bid alive but will need to play in a fourth round of Asian qualifiers.
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“We have quality – we had quality in the beginning of my work here, but now we are coming to be one group of people who really support each other, who trust each other, and who are ready to fight for the kingdom,” Talajic noted.
“Now, we are all together, the whole kingdom is together, and in the last four games we will show something special.
“I’m optimistic, but I’m realistic also.”
Talajic says that his players have shown the most growth in their mental toughness, and that he will fight “until the death” with anybody who will try to destroy what the team have built together.
“Mentally, we were not strong in the beginning, but now, we mentally trust ourselves, we have self-confidence, and now it will be a different story in the last four games,” Talajic explained.
“If we are together, we are capable to do everything. If somebody will try to make something wrong between us, I will fight until the death to not give them a chance to destroy what we have made.
“Now has come the time that we have to show to everyone – we showed in the Gulf Cup that we can play nice football.
“Now, these last four games in World Cup qualification – that will be some story. We are going to win every single game, even Japan. We are not scared of anyone.”
Looking back at the 26th Gulf Cup, when the Bahrainis claimed the coveted trophy for only the second time in the tournament’s history, Talajic says that he had a strong feeling that they would win the tournament even before flying out to Kuwait City.v
“In the beginning, before we travelled to Kuwait, I told the media here that we will go to the final,” he recalled. “I know that this tournament was maybe one of the hardest Gulf tournaments in history because all the teams coming are with their full squad, and we are all in the third round of qualification for the World Cup, except Yemen. This means very difficult games and everyone wants to win the tournament.
“I had a feeling with my boys that we would do something special. Before the tournament, I said I will see you in the final, and some people were laughing; but now, at the end of the story, alhamdulillah, everything happened like we wanted.”
Talajic praises the kingdom’s fans who supported the team from the opening match, saying that their support gave them “our 12th player on the field”.
“It was something unbelievable,” he described. “In our first game against Saudi Arabia – we respect them too much, they are our big brother, they have excellent players, and an excellent coach – when I saw in the stadium 5,000 people from Bahrain, I said ‘Guys, khalas, we will win this tournament’.
“We have the support from our people, the people trust in us – it was something special for me, and I said that we have to do something special for our kingdom, and we were able to.
“I am so proud of our boys for what they made in the Gulf tournament, I am proud about our people how they gave big support for every one of us – they were our 12th player on the field, and really all the fans were our big power. If I say 100 per cent who made this success, it is 50 per cent minimum from the Bahraini fans.”
Talajic is now looking forward to even greater achievements with Bahrain – and none would be bigger than guiding the kingdom to its first-ever Fifa World Cup Finals.
“In the beginning, I said I am a winning coach, and this is true,” Talajic noted. “But this is not the success of Dragan. This is the success of my team, because I am the coach who believes in teamwork.
“People don’t know how many hours, how many days and months we spend together with our staff and all the people supporting us. We are spending a lot of time to find winning ways for our boys.
“This is coming from the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, also the Bahrain Football Association and all the people working here.
“This means everything is coming together like a puzzle, the small details.”
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
Major achievements under coach Talajic
THE announcement of Dragan Talajic’s appointment as Bahrain head coach was made by the Bahrain Football Association on February 20, 2024. GDN Media looks back at some of the national team’s biggest accomplishments over the past year under the Croatian.
Bahrain advanced to the third round of Asian qualifiers for the Fifa World Cup Finals 2026 and also secured their place in the AFC Asian Cup Finals 2027. Talajic was in charge of their last four games in this qualification stage – winning twice against Nepal in March of 2024 and then drawing with both Yemen and the UAE in June.
Bahrain came away with an historic 1-0 victory over 10-man Australia in September of last year in their opening match of the third round of Asian qualification for the Fifa World Cup Finals 2026. An own goal in the 89th minute by Australian defender Harry Souttar, off an attempt to cross by Bahrain’s Abdulla Al Khalasi, was enough to separate the two sides in the hugely physical encounter, played at Robina Stadium in the Gold Coast of eastern Australia.
Bahrain climbed to 76th in the September 2024 edition of the Fifa World Ranking – the senior men’s national team’s highest classification in 14 years. The Bahrainis improved to 1,315.49 total ranking points that month, and they maintained that position in the October 2024 edition of the world ranking. It was Bahrain’s best ranking since 2010, when they were 60th in their best placing of that year. They ended 2024 in 81st place. The next update of the Fifa World Ranking, which will be the first of 2025, is in April.
Bahrain were crowned champions of the 26th Gulf Cup, held in Kuwait City. It was the second-ever title for the kingdom in the history of the regional competition. They secured the crown after defeating Oman 2-1 in the final, where Bahrain’s star midfielder Mohammed Jassim Marhoon fired in a 78th minute equaliser and then delivered a pass that was deflected by Omani defender Mohammed Almusallami into his own net just two minutes later.
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