FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN have named their final 23-player roster that will be competing at home next week in the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
The kingdom’s junior men’s football national team are in Group D of the qualification competition alongside their counterparts from Tajikistan, Jordan, and Afghanistan.
Matches will be played at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town from Monday to September 6, with potentially two spots up for grabs in next year’s AFC U20 Asian Cup, which is to be held in China from March 24 to April 10.
The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) announced yesterday the national team roster which will be guided by head coach Ali Aamer, a former senior men’s football national team and Muharraq Club star midfielder.
The players include Hussain Zuhair, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaie, Amjad Jaafar, Khaled Ahmed, Bader Hussain, Khaled Alkhalaf, Mubarak Fawaz, Mohammed Salah, Khaled Alkhaldi, Adam Fareed, Jassim Qasem, Abdulrahman Bassam, Ali Mehran, Karrar Huwaida, Ahmed Nasser, Ahmed Almuraisi, Komail Alsitrawi, Abdulla Osama, Ali Hussain, Mohammed Aljazzaf, and goalkeepers Abdulla Ahmed, Hassan Albastaki, and Hussain Ebrahim.
The Bahrainis open their schedule against Tajikistan on Monday before taking on Jordan on Thursday next week. They then complete their qualification bid against Afghanistan on the concluding day of action. All their matches are scheduled to kick off at 8.30pm.
Bahrain are one of 32 sides in the qualifiers. The field has been divided into eight groups of four, with each pool’s games being held at a centralised location.
Following a single round-robin, the eight group winners and the seven best second-placed teams will advance to the 43rd edition of the AFC U20 Asian Cup.
The other hosts are Kyrgyzstan for Group A, Uzbekistan for Group B, Vietnam for Group C, Qatar for Group E, Thailand for Group F, Cambodia for Group G, and Laos for Group H.
Bahrain kicked off on Thursday night their final preparations for the qualifiers with training at the BFA pitches at Isa Sports City in Riffa, under the supervision of Aamer.
The nationals are looking to qualify for the continental tournament for the 10th time.
They first competed in 1973 and last in 2016, but have missed the previous three editions.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh