Bahrain trash Yemen 4 - 0 in AFC Asian Cup & World Cup joint qualifier

Doha

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Bahrain put in a fine second half performance as they trounced Yemen 4-0 last night in a Group H match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup – AFC Asian Cup joint qualifier at Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

It was a welcome win for Bahrain who went into the third match of its campaign after losing its opener 2-1 away in the Philippines and then going down at the weekend 0-1 at home to North Korea, while Yemen had previously lost all three matches, North Korea (0-3), Philippines (0-2) and Uzbekistan (0-1).

The Bahrainis under Argentine coach Sergio Batista took the lead through skipper Hussein Ali Mohammed with a 31st minute penalty strike to go into the halftime break 1-0 ahead.

Within 60 seconds of the restart, Bahrain doubled its lead when Busaiteen striker Sami Al Hussaini found the back of the net and Chad-born midfielder Abdulla Omar – who had a three-year spell in Switzerland with Neuchatel Xamax before joining Jeddah giants Al Ittihad – made it 3-0 in the 66th minute.

Bahrain’s fourth and final goal came in the 77th minute courtesy of Sayed Mohammed Adnan as the Kingdom put themselves back in contention with the win that took them to within three points of joint second-placed sides Uzbekistan and the Philippines with the top four sides in Group H all having played three games, while struggling Yemen have played four fixtures and remain rooted at the foot of the table without a point.

The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.