Arab Cup Spot On The Line For Bahrain

Bahrain’s national football team take on Djibouti today at 4 PM in Doha’s Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in a one-off FIFA Arab Cup 2025 playoff. The winners will secure a place in the group stage of the tournament, which runs from December 1 to 18 in Qatar. Having exited at the group stage in 2021, Bahrain are aiming to regroup and advance further this time.

This year’s Arab Cup is the 11th edition of the tournament. The last staging, also in Doha in 2021, was won by Algeria, while Bahrain left the competition at the preliminary stage. Four years on, the team is determined to rewrite its recent history.

After lifting the Gulf Cup in January, Bahrain have struggled to maintain that momentum. They lost all four remaining matches in FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying and four of five friendlies since September. Their most recent preparation match ended in a 1-2 defeat to Somalia, yet it offered crucial insight ahead of today’s decisive encounter.

Head coach Dragan Talajic has called up a 24-player squad for the campaign, led by the kingdom’s most experienced internationals. The roster features Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Komail Al Aswad, Ali Madan, Mahdi Humaidan, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Waleed Al Hayyam, Amine Benaddi, and goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfallah. Humaidan joins after completing his club duties with Al Zawraa in Iraq, while Benaddi returns following injury. The squad has spent the past weeks training in Doha, using a break in the local league to recover and sharpen fitness ahead of the qualifier.

Djibouti arrive in equally difficult form, having suffered six consecutive losses, including heavy defeats in recent friendlies against Morocco. A win for Bahrain would place them in Group D alongside defending champions Algeria, Iraq, and the winner of Lebanon versus Sudan, which is scheduled for 7 PM today.

Kick-off against Djibouti is at 4 PM local time, and Bahraini supporters are expected to turn out in force to back their team as they chase a place in the 16-nation tournament.