BAHRAIN will be playing to win tonight when they take on Turkmenistan, even with the game’s result having no bearing on either team’s qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
The match is the final qualifier for both teams, and they both have already secured their berths in the continental showcase. But national team head coach Miroslav Soukup is still aiming for a victory in order to finish on top of their qualifying group and improve their current Fifa World Ranking.
“Everyone is ready to play against Turkmenistan especially after having some good performances in the local league,” Soukup was quoted as saying. “Our aim is to win against Turkmenistan because this will improve our position in the Fifa ranking.”
The Bahrainis are currently ranked 125th in the world, while the Turkmen are 114th.
Tonight’s game is scheduled for a 6.30pm kick-off and it will be played at National Stadium in Riffa.
The squad practised at the match venue yesterday evening under Soukup’s supervision. They went over their tactics for the contest
Bahrain will be without suspended players Sayed Dhiya Saeed and Ahmed Abdulla Ali for the game, but Soukup still has a talented group of players to choose from.
“We have some injuries while two players will miss the match against Turkmenistan due to suspension,” Soukup said. “We’ve made some changes to the team due to these injuries and suspensions, and the players are not new to the national team.”
The Czech manager had named a mixed group of veteran and young players ahead the tie to take part in pre-match preparations, which included an international friendly against Palestine last week that ended in a goalless draw.
The players called on included Ibrahim Al Obaidly, Waleed Al Hayyam, Abdulla Abdo, Abdulla Yousif, Jamal Rashid, Isa Moosa (all Muharraq); Abbas Haram, Ahmed Moosa, Ali Habib (all Manama); Ahmed Bu Ghammar, Abdulwahab Al Malood (both Al Hidd); Mohammed Sahwan, Ali Madan, Sayyed Shubbar Alawi, Sayed Mahdi Baqer (all Al Najma); Mahmood Mukhtar, Hussain Jameel, Ali Isa (all Al Shabab); Kumail Al Aswad (Riffa), Mahdi Abdul-Jabbar (Al Ettihad), Abdulkarim Fardan, Sayed Redha Isa (both Al Malkiya), and Jassim Al Shaikh and Ahmed Juma (Al Ahli.
Bahrain are in joint-first place in Asian Cup qualifying’s Group ‘E’ after amassing 10 points from their first five matches, where they won thrice, drew once and lost the other. The Turkmen are also on 10 points but Bahrain have a greater goal difference of +8 to +3.
There are 24 teams in all in the third and final round of Asian Cup qualifying. They have been divided into six groups of four each. Only the top two teams from each group qualify for the competition proper.
Competition
Some nations are already in the competition. They include tournament hosts the UAE, Qatar, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Uzbekistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, China, Palestine, Oman, India, Lebanon, Turkmenistan, Jordan, Vietnam and Bahrain.
Next year’s AFC Asian Cup will be the 17th edition of the prestigious annual championship of Asia, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It will be held in the UAE. It will be the second time that the United Arab Emirates hosts the tournament after the 1996 finals.
Bahrain will be competing in their sixth AFC Asian Cup next year.
The Bahrainis last competed in the 2015 edition. Their best-ever finish was fourth overall in 2004.
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