The 'Bahrain national football team' () is the national team of the
Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the
Bahrain Football Association. They have never made the
World Cup. Bahrain won
FIFA's most improved team award in 2004, and finished fourth in the
2004 Asian Cup. The international team was founded in
1951 and joined
FIFA in
1966.
On
October 12 2005, Bahrain drew with
Uzbekistan at home 0-0, giving them an aggregate score of 1-1. This win, on away goals, allowed Bahrain to enter a two-legged playoff with the fourth placed
CONCACAF nation (
Trinidad and Tobago) for a spot in the World Cup. But a 0-1 Bahrain loss in
Manama after a 1-1 draw in
Port of Spain saw the
CONCACAF nation go through.
Bahrain is currently third in group D in the
Asian Cup 2007 (qualification) group games. On October 11 2006 against
Australia in
Sydney, Bahrain fielded a side which was essentially the Olympic (under 23) team. Although they lost 2-0, the team put in a strong performance, frustating their experienced opponenents and exposing some weaknesses in the Australian defensive pattern
[1]. Bahrain won their last match against Kuwait to qualify for the Asian Cup 2007.
On
January 6,
2007 Bahrain faced
Inter Milan in a friendly match which they lost 6-1. Despite the result, the event was greeted with enthusiasm by the whole country.
Bahrain Knocked Out from the group stage in the
Asian Cup 2007
With two loses against
Indonesia and
Saudi Arabia and win against Korea Republic , it was such a disappointing result for Bahraini fans.
World Cup record
★
1930 to
1974 - ''Did not enter''
★
1978 to
1986 - ''Did not qualify''
★
1990 - ''Withdrew''
★
1994 to
2006 - ''Did not qualify''
Asian Cup record
★
1956 to
1968 - ''Did not enter''
★
1972 - ''Did not qualify''
★
1976 - ''Withdrew''
★
1980 - ''Withdrew during qualifying''
★
1984 - ''Did not enter''
★
1988 - Round 1
★
1992 - ''Did not qualify''
★
1996 - ''Withdrew''
★
2000 - ''Did not qualify''
★
2004 - Fourth place
★
2007 - Round 1
Last and next games
January 24,
2007,
Abu Dhabi,
UAE - '1 - 2' Gulf Cup of Nations
January 27,
2007,
Abu Dhabi,
UAE - '1 - 0' Gulf Cup of Nations
June 27,
2007,
Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia - '2 - 2' Friendly
June 30,
2007,
Hanoi,
Vietnam - '5 - 3' Friendly
July 10,
2007,
Jakarta,
Indonesia - '2 - 1' AFC Asian Cup
July 15,
2007,
Jakarta,
Indonesia - '2 - 1' AFC Asian Cup
July 18,
2007,
Palembang,
Indonesia - '4 - 0' AFC Asian Cup
WC2010 Qulifacation
October 8 -
Manama,
Bahrain ' - '
Current squad
Bahrain's squad in the
2007 Asian Cup.
References