FOOTBALL – “Everything is open,” declared Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic following their 0-1 defeat to Indonesia on Tuesday in the third round of Asian qualification for the Fifa World Cup 2026.
The Croatian tactician stressed that the kingdom’s senior men’s football national team can still keep their World Cup dreams alive by advancing to the fourth stage of continental qualifiers.
This is available for the third and fourth-ranked teams in the three groups in this stage, as a direct berth – which is to be taken by the top two – is already out of reach.
“This situation is now a little bit difficult for Bahrain and our team,” Talajic admitted during his post-game Press conference at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
“Now, only Japan is qualified, and Australia have to fight more to be sure to qualify as the second team.
“Positions three and four are open. Indonesia is in a little bit better position than us, but you have to play one more game with Japan, and that means still it is open. But you are in a better position for one step than us.
“This is a very heavy group, and everything is open.”
The nationals were dealt their fourth loss after eight outings and remained on just six points on the Group C table – three behind the Indonesians, who went to nine points with their second triumph to date.
The Japanese, who have already secured their place in next year’s Fifa World Cup, maintained their unbeaten run and improved to 20 points following a goalless stalemate with Saudi, who improved to 10 points in third place following a fourth draw.
The Australians, on the other hand, strengthened their hold on second as they rose to 13 points with their third win after beating China 2-0. The Chinese stayed in last place with six points in Group C.
“Congratulations to Indonesia for the win,” Talajic said. “The result was 1-0 – from my side, I am a little bit upset, because I think we deserve minimum to be a draw in this game.
“One mistake from our side – a small mistake and small details – allowed [Indonesia] to score their goal.”
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