Bahrain name squad for African friendlies

Talajić selects 24 for Morocco and Egypt fixtures

Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajić has named a 24-man squad for the international friendlies against Morocco and Egypt, as preparations intensify ahead of December’s FIFA Arab Cup in Doha.

The full squad features: Ebrahim Lutfalla (GK), Yousif Habib (GK), Mohammed Gharably (GK), Waleed Al Hayyam, Amine Bennadi, Hamad Shamsan, Ahmed Bughammar, AlSayed Mahmood AlMoosawi, Hazaa Ali, Abdulla Khalasi, Hussain Jameel, Mohammed Marhoon, Vincent Emmanuel, Sayed Mehdi Sharaf, Sayed Dhiyaa Saeed, Komail AlAswad, Jassim AlShaikh, Omar Saber, Mehdi Humaidan, Hussain Abdulkarim, Abdulla AlSubaiei, Ebrahim AlKhattal, Mehdi Abduljabbar, Mohammed Al Rumaihi.

High-level opposition

The Bahrainis face Morocco in Rabat on 9 October before taking on Egypt three days later in the same city. Both matches will be played at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, with the opener against Morocco kicking off at 10pm Bahrain time. Morocco are ranked 11th in the world, reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, and have already booked their ticket to the 2026 edition co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico. The game also serves as part of the Atlas Lions’ build-up to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.

Egypt, meanwhile, sit 35th in the FIFA rankings and remain one of Africa’s most decorated national teams.

The Bahrain Football Association confirmed the squad yesterday and earlier noted they had originally scheduled two home friendlies against Egypt before accepting an invitation from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.

Arab Cup focus

These games will be important tune-ups before Bahrain’s Arab Cup qualifying play-off in November against Djibouti. A win would place them in Group D alongside Algeria, Iraq, and either Lebanon or Sudan.

Bahrain are currently 88th in the world and 12th in Asia. Their most recent outings earlier this month saw them draw 2–2 with Qatar before a 0–1 defeat to the UAE. The national team were eliminated from the Asian qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in June, but the Arab Cup offers a chance to reset.