FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN’S junior men’s football national team registered a hard-earned 1-0 victory over their counterparts from Syria last night in a friendly match played at home as part of both teams’ preparations for the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
Hussain Zuhair was on target for the Bahrainis with the game’s lone goal.
His effort was enough to separate the two sides in what was their second tune-up against one another in a week.
The Bahrainis had also won their opening meeting with the same score line, with Ali Mehran supplying the winner in that clash.
Yesterday’s match was held at the Bahrain Football Association’s (BFA) Fifa Stadium at its premises in Isa Sports City in Riffa.
The nationals were also originally scheduled to play a pair of friendlies against Bangladesh on August 16 and 19, both at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town. But the BFA announced yesterday that the Bangladesh Football Federation had sent an official apology stating that they will no longer be able to play the games.
It is still unknown if the BFA will be finding replacement matches for the junior men’s squad, who have one other tune-up on the cards – against Gulf rivals Qatar, set to be played in Doha on August 24.
Bahrain are hosting qualification Group D for the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2027.
They are joined in their division by Tajikistan, Jordan, and Afghanistan. Matches will be played at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town from August 31 to September 6 as one of eight qualifying groups being held across the continent.
Group A is composed of hosts Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, and Lebanon; Group B comprises hosts Uzbekistan, Syria, Bangladesh, and India; Group C features hosts Vietnam, Iran, North Korea, and Palestine; Group E includes hosts Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Hong Kong; Group F is composed of hosts Thailand, Iraq, the UAE, and Turkmenistan; Group G includes hosts Cambodia, Japan, Yemen, and Kuwait; and Group H features hosts Laos, Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Bahrain will be looking to finish as their group’s winners or at least be one of seven best runners-up in order to qualify for the AFC U20 Asian Cup for the 10th time.
They first competed in 1973 and were last involved in 2016, but have missed the previous three editions.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh