Bahrain start AFC Futsal Asian Cup with defeat

South Korea win 2-0 through Kang Joo-kwang, Shin Jong-hoon

Bahrain’s national futsal team were handed a tough start to their AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2026 qualifying campaign yesterday, suffering a 0–2 defeat to South Korea in their Group B opener at Nonthaburi Stadium in Thailand. The loss leaves them with ground to make up in the days ahead.

Head coach Rafael Fogageiro’s men entered the competition well-prepared and with optimism after weeks of training and friendlies, but found themselves unable to overcome the physical and disciplined Korean side. Starting for Bahrain were goalkeeper Sayed Fadhel Mahfoodh, Mohammed Sindi, Mohammed Abdulla, Salman Al Mulla, and Ali Al Araibi.

Second-half breakthrough

Bahrain held firm during the first half, but the breakthrough came for South Korea just four minutes after the restart. Kang Joo-kwang latched onto a second-ball chance to put the Koreans ahead. Despite Bahrain’s attempts to fight back, their opponents doubled the lead in the 38th minute through Shin Jong-hoon, capitalising on a late power-play push by the Bahrainis.

Qualification stakes clear

Group B is one of the toughest pools of the qualifiers, featuring Bahrain, South Korea, hosts Thailand, and Brunei Darussalam. After yesterday’s setback, the Bahrainis will quickly turn their focus to tomorrow's match against hosts Thailand, before concluding the group stages against Brunei on Wednesday.

The qualifiers see 31 teams competing across eight groups, with only the group winners and the seven best second-placed finishers advancing to the finals alongside hosts Indonesia. The AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2026 will take place in Jakarta from January 27 to February 7.

Bahrain are bidding to reach the continental tournament for the fifth time, having last appeared in 2024 in Thailand. Their best finish came in 2018, when they reached the quarter-finals in Chinese Taipei.