Bahrain Ready to Defend Gulf Crown

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Defending champions Bahrain have named their final 26-player squad for the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup, which will be held from September 23 to October 6 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Officially named Khaleeji Al Diyar Al Arabiya 27, the prestigious eight-nation tournament is organised by the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF).

The Bahrain Football Association confirmed the final roster yesterday, with Croatian head coach Dragan Talajic selecting Ebrahim Luthfallah, Omar Salem and Mohammed Elgharably as his three goalkeepers.

The outfield players are Mohammed Marhoon, Komail Al Aswad, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Ali Madan, Mahdi Humaidan, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Abdulla Alkhalasi, Waleed Al Hayyam, Amine Benaddi, Jassim Al Shaikh, Abbas Al Asfoor, Hamad Shamsan, Hussain Abdulkarim, Ahmed Rabea, Hassan Alkarani, Omar Saber, Vincent Emmanuel, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Hashem Sayed Issa, Mohammed Alrumaihi, Ebrahim Alkhattal, Mohammed Abdulqayoom and Ali Aldoseri.

Among them, Aldoseri is the only uncapped player. The 22-year-old has earned his first senior call-up after impressing for Al Najma in the Nasser bin Hamad Premier League.

His selection is one of eight changes from the side that lifted the trophy in Kuwait last year, with 18 members of the championship-winning squad retained.

The Reds will continue their preparations at home before departing for Jeddah on Sunday.

The tournament gets under way on Wednesday, coinciding with Saudi National Day, as Iraq face Oman at 5.30pm before hosts Saudi Arabia take on Kuwait at 9pm in Group A.

Bahrain begin their Group B campaign against Qatar the following evening at 9pm. They meet the UAE three days later at the same time before completing the preliminary stage against Yemen on September 30 at 8.30pm.

All three of the kingdom’s matches will be played at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium.

The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals on October 3, with the final taking place three days later at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.

Bahrain will be chasing a third Gulf crown, having won the tournament for the first time in 2019 before defeating Oman 2-1 in the January 2025 final in Kuwait City.