Bahrain national football team
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| Bahrain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | The Reds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Association | Bahrain Football Association | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach |  Milan Máčala |
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| Most caps | Abdulrazzaq Mohamed (102) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top scorer | A'ala Hubail (30) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home stadium | Bahrain National Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA code | BHR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA ranking | 72 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 44 (September 2004) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 139 (March 2000) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elo ranking | 69 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| First international | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Bahrain 4 - 4 Kuwait  (Baghdad, Iraq; April 2, 1966) |
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| Biggest win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bahrain 5 - 0 Kyrgyzstan  (Bahrain; June 9, 2004) Bahrain 5 - 0 Turkmenistan  (Bahrain; 3 August 2005) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg/22px-Flag_of_Iraq_(1963-1991).svg.png){kind=small} Iraq 10 - 1 Bahrain (Baghdad, Iraq; April 6, 1966) |
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| AFC Asian Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 3 (First in 1988) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Fourth place, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Bahraini national football team (Arabic: منتخب البحرين لكرة القدم) is the national team of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association. They have never made the World Cup, but have improved greatly during the past few years. 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.
Bahrain finished fourth in the 2004 Asian Cup in a very surprising run, beating Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals but losing to Japan in the semi-finals in an exciting encounter which ended 4-3 to Japan, where Bahrain were leading several times. Bahrain then lost to Iran in the third place match, therefore finishing fourth place overall.
After Uzbekistan and Bahrain both finished third in their groups during the World Cup 2006 qualifiers, October 12, 2005, Bahrain entered a two-legged playoff with Uzbekistan, which they won due to away goals with an aggregate score of 1-1. This win allowed Bahrain to enter another 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, which was greeted with both anger and sadness by Bahraini fans.
Bahrain played in group D in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification group games. Bahrain fielded a side which was essentially the Olympic (under 23) team against Australia, and although they lost 2-0, the team put in a strong performance, frustrating their experienced opponents and exposing weaknesses in the Australian defense. Bahrain qualified for the Asian Cup 2007 after defeating Kuwait in their last match. Bahrain were knocked out in the group stages via two losses against Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, despite a win against Korea republic.
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 are currently participating in the World Cup 2010 qualifiers, having reached the third round. Bahrain were drawn into group B along with Japan, Oman, and Thailand. After defeating Oman 1-0 away in Muscat for the three points, Bahrain faced Iran and Qatar in friendly matches, which they also won. On March 26, 2008, Bahrain defeated Japan 1-0 in their second match, placing them 3 points clear of Japan at the top of the group. Bahrain's four remaining fixtures will be played in June this year.
Contents |
[edit] Last match
[edit] Next match
[edit] World Cup record
- 1930 to 1974 - Did not enter
- 1978 to 1986 - Did not qualify
- 1990 - Withdrew
- 1994 to 2006 - Did not qualify
[edit] 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
[edit] Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. (against Oman on February 6, 2008)
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[edit] Recent Call Ups
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