TDT | Manama
Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain yesterday continued their final preparations for tomorrow’s 2026 FIFA World Cup continental qualifier against the UAE.
The match is scheduled to kick off at 6:45pm at the National Stadium in Riffa.
This will be the second match in Group H of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) second round qualifiers.
The match follows Bahrain’s 2-0 victory over Yemen in Abha, Saudi Arabia last week.
Tomorrow’s match is also a qualifier for the AFC Asian Cup 2027.
The Emiratis were scheduled to arrive in Saudi Arabia yesterday ahead of the much-awaited contest. UAE, led by Portuguese head coach Paulo Bento, will field 27 players for the match.
The visiting team will enter the match with confidence after defeating Nepal 4-0 in the opening qualifying round last week.
In order to garner maximum support for the Bahrain national team in the qualifiers, Bahrain Football Association (BFA) President Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa has announced that Bahrain fans will be allowed to attend matches in the public stands. He gave them free admission.
There are also VIP seating tickets available for BD5 each. BFA officials also held a meeting yesterday with local club officials to coordinate spectator attendance at matches.
Bahrain coach Juan Antonio Pizzi has 30 players ready for tomorrow’s match.
The team started the match against Yemen with a striking partnership between Abdullah Al Hasash and Hazza Ali. Mohamed Al Hadan, Ebrahim Al Khatar, Mohamed Abdulwahab, Komail Al Aswad and Mohamed Jassim Marhoun formed the five-man midfield. Walid Al Khayyam, Mohamed Adel and Amin Hassan will play in defense. And between the posts is Ebrahim Rusfallah.
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.
Apart from qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, Bahrain is also preparing for the next AFC Asian Cup to be held in Doha next January.