TDT | Manama
Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain ticketed to the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024 last night.
The Saudi national futsal team qualified with a 6-1 victory over their Brunei opponents at the Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town.
Ahmed Abdulnabi and Farah Abbas scored Bahrain’s first goals in the first half and they went into half-time with a narrow 2-1 lead.
However, in the final 20 minutes, goals from Saleh Sankar, Mohamed Al Sandi, Salman Al Mulla and Jasam Anan sealed a big victory.
As a result, Bahrain achieved their second consecutive victory in Group F of the qualifying tournament.
They have up to six points from their last two games and will face Kuwait in their final game tomorrow.
This match will determine the winner of Group F and earn a direct ticket to next year’s AFC Futsal Asian Cup.
Bahrain and Brunei are in the same pool as Kuwait and Timor-Leste.
A total of 31 countries will participate in the qualifiers, divided into eight groups, with each group held at a central venue.
In the other Group F match yesterday, Kuwait defeated Timor-Leste 8-1. Tomorrow’s match between Bahrain and Kuwait is scheduled to kick off at 6.30pm at the same venue, before Brunei and Timor-Leste face each other at 4pm.
Tomorrow is the day of the final qualifying match.
The Bahrain Football Association last night confirmed the national team’s eligibility regardless of tomorrow’s result.
After one round robin, the eight group winners, along with the top seven players and the host country’s national team, will earn an automatic ticket to next year’s AFC Futsal Asian Cup.
Bahrain’s Brazilian head coach Rafael Fogajeiro has fielded a squad of 14 players.
This is the fourth time in the history of the tournament that Bahrain has qualified for the AFC Futsal Asia Cup.
The host for next year’s event has not yet been decided.
The Nationals have previously competed in the tournament in 2002, 2018 and 2022, with their best performance coming in Taiwan in 2018, when they reached the quarterfinals.
The tournament also serves as a qualifier for the FIFA Futsal World Cup, with five teams from the AFC booking a spot in the world tournament to be held next September.