TDT | Manama
Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain suffered a crushing 2-0 defeat to the UAE last night in Group H of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Continental Qualifiers.
Abdullah Ramadan and Ali Mabkhout scored goals for the UAE on either side of half-time in the match, which was played in front of a large crowd of supporters at the National Stadium in Riffa.
Bahrain was eliminated from the qualifying round for the first time in two games, but UAE won their second consecutive match.
Yesterday’s result followed Bahrain’s 2-0 win over Yemen in last week’s opening match, while the visitors beat Nepal 4-0.
Last night’s match was part of the second round of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup under the jurisdiction of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and was also a qualifier for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
Bahrain coach Juan Antonio Pizzi, who is of Argentinian origin, had a starting line-up that included Ebrahim Lutufallah in goal. In defense, Mohamed Adel, Hazza Ali and Moses Atede. A five-man midfield consisting of Amin Hassan, Mohamed Al Hadan, Mohamed Jassim Marhoun, Ebrahim Al Wali, and Waleed Al Khayyam. Abdullah Al Hasash and Komer Al Aswad were sworn in as the strike partnership.
Al Hasash was the first to pose a threat to the national team when he found the side netting in the fourth minute.
Then, in the 15th minute, Marhoon fired a shot that just went over the crossbar. In the 25th minute, UAE’s Caio Canedo beat Rusfallah, but his shot hit the left post and escaped danger.
Emirates took the lead in the 36th minute with some great passing inside the penalty area.
Ali Saleh assisted Ramadan in a perfect position and Ramadan slotted the ball into the goal from close range to the left of the goal. It was enough to give UAE the lead towards the end of the first half.
After the restart, Bahrain bravely equalized but had few chances. In the 81st minute, Hasan’s header went just centimeters on target, and three minutes later Marhoun’s free kick went over the crossbar.
UAE finally clinched victory in regulation time when Ramadan was awarded a spot-kick after he was brought down by Hardan in the box.
Mabkhout stepped forward to take the penalty and made no mistake as he placed the shot into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Group H activities will resume in March next year.
AFC’s FIFA World Cup qualifying format has five rounds, with eight teams booking tickets to the Global Showcase, with the possibility of one more round following the inter-confederation play-offs.
Thirty-six countries are participating directly in this second phase, divided into nine groups of four.
Each team will play against each other in a home and away format.
The nine group winners and group runners-up will advance to the third round. In addition to this, they will also automatically qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2027.