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The Bahrain national football team dreams of leaving its mark in the Asian Nations Cup, and breaking the barrier of early defeat when it competes in the continental championship hosted by Qatar early next year.
The 18th edition of the tournament will be held from January 12 to February 10 of next year, in 9 stadiums, including 7 that hosted the 2022 World Cup matches.
The draw placed the Bahraini team in the fifth group alongside South Korea, Malaysia and Jordan.
The Bahrain national team ranked 86th in the FIFA rankings last November, and its highest ranking was 44th in September 2004.
Establishment
The Bahrain Football Association was established in 1951, and joined the Asian and International Football Confederations (FIFA) in 1957 and 1966, respectively.
1959🇧🇭: Bahrain national football team. #theoldbahrain #bahrain #the two seas #football #bahrainfootball pic.twitter.com/FTye2sE9XK
— The Old Bahrain (@TheOldBahrain) January 6, 2022
He played his first official match against Kuwait on April 2, 1966, which ended in a 4-4 draw in Baghdad.
He has not reached the World Cup finals in his history, and the first tournament he won in his history was in October 2011 when he won the Gulf Games, which were held in the Kingdom.
📊 Bahrain national team numbers🇧🇭24th Gulf champion🏆 in the Gulf Cup Championship throughout history🗓
🥇(1) 2019
🥈(4) 1970,1982,1992,2003
🥉(4) 1990,1994,2004,2007#ZamalekOn pic.twitter.com/PXZD9l8SWI— ZAMALEKON (@Zamalek_On) December 8, 2019
It won the Best Improved Team Award in 2004, and won the 2019 West Asian Football Federation Championship after defeating the Iraqi national team with a clean goal at Karbala International Stadium.
In the same year, he won the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup for the first time after winning the final with a clean goal over Saudi Arabia.
History of the Bahrain national team in the Asian Cup:
1980 | Withdrawn
1984 | Withdrawn
1988 | Exit groups
1992 | Did not qualify
1996 | Withdrawn
2000 | Did not qualify
2004 | fourth place
2007 | Exit groups
2011 | Exit groups
2015 | Exit groups
– 2019 ..؟#AsianCup2019 pic.twitter.com/3ml2Ai9i6Z– Saad Al-Harithi (@S_Alshdadi) January 1, 2019
Participations in the Asian Cup
Al-Ahmar did not achieve glory in the Asian Cup, and its best results remained fourth place.
#Mahmoud_Al-Khatib Elected star #Egypt Former and current president of the club #Ahly Watching the match between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in the 1988 Asian Nations Cup pic.twitter.com/3ESZROcCQK
– Al Kass Channels (@AlkassTVSports) December 26, 2018
- 1988 edition in Qatar: The Bahraini national team's first participation in the Asian Cup tournaments was delayed until the ninth edition and it was eliminated in the first round.
- 2004 version in China: The Bahraini national team waited 16 years to appear for the second time in the Asian Cup, but they failed to take advantage of the boom in their level during this period, and achieved their best achievement in the tournament by achieving fourth place.
https://twitter.com/classic_calcio/status/1703777915303760334
- 2007 version (collective organization between Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia): He was eliminated from the first round after two losses to Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, despite his victory over South Korea.
- 2011 edition in Qatar: The tournament was eliminated in the first round.
- 2015 edition in Australia: The scenario was repeated as Bahrain lost the first two matches to Iran and the UAE but defeated Qatar 2-1.
- 2019 edition in the UAE: Qualified to the final eight after that It tied with the UAE 1-1, before falling to Thailand 0-1, but it snatched the ticket to the round of 16 in the fatal minutes, beating India with a clean goal. In the eighth final, the Bahrain national team lost 1-2 to South Korea, after extra time, and this was considered an achievement for Bahraini football.
.
Our first national team has completed its series of training before playing the third test match in the Serbian camp, which will bring it together tomorrow, Wednesday, against the Serbian club FK Radnicki Beograd. pic.twitter.com/eEyhXyaK2O— BahrainFootballAssociation ⚽ (@BahrainFA) August 29, 2023
Most prominent players
- Goalkeeper Ismail Mohamed Jaafar (national team captain)
- Abdullah Youssef Hilal
- Salem Adel Hassan
- Ali Madin
Mohammed Hussein is the player who participated most in the Bahrain national team jersey (161 international matches), while the national team’s top scorer is Ismail Abdul Latif, with 47 goals.
🚨🚨🚨 Exclusive to Cesar |
• Juan Antonio Pizzi is the new coach of the Bahrain national team 🇧🇭 pic.twitter.com/v2vr98oGJ0
– Badr Al-Shaibani (@iBaVFL) July 10, 2023
Team coach
Last July, the Bahrain Football Association announced the appointment of Argentine Juan Antonio Pizzi as coach of the first national team, succeeding Portuguese Helio Sousa.
Rashid Al Zaabi, Secretary General of the Bahrain Football Association, praised the experience that Pizzi possesses in Asian football, noting that this was an essential element in the decision to contract him.
Pizzi has extensive experience in the field of coaching, as he supervised several clubs and teams, such as Valencia of Spain, Racing of Argentina, Al-Wasl of the Emirates, and the Chilean and Saudi national teams.
Bahrain's matches in Group E of the 2023 Asian Cup
- January 15, 2024: South Korea x Bahrain (Jassem bin Hamad Stadium).
- January 20: Bahrain x Malaysia (Jassim bin Hamad Stadium).
- January 25: Jordan x Bahrain (Khalifa International Stadium).
