Gulf Kings on Course for Arab Supremacy

TDT | Manama

Email : hussainm@newsofbahrain.com

The Bahrainis secured their place in the FIFA Arab Cup 2025 with a 1-0 win over Djibouti in yesterday’s one-off qualifier at Doha’s Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. The Gulf champions took the lead in the 36th minute through Mohammed AlRomaihi, and a first-half red card for Djibouti’s Ahmed Zakaria left the visitors with ten men, making Bahrain’s path to victory clearer.

The result ensures Bahrain will compete in the group stage of the Arab Cup, which will also be held in Doha, Qatar, from December 1 to 18. Fans had turned out in force, urging their team to secure qualification after a year of mixed fortunes. The Bahrainis have twice finished as runners-up in the Arab Cup, in 1985 in Ta’if, Saudi Arabia, and in 2002 in Kuwait, and will now aim to improve on those achievements.

The match began slowly, with few clear chances in the first half. AlRomaihi opened the scoring in the 36th minute after Djibouti goalkeeper Mouktae Youssouf spilled a dangerous delivery from Mohammed Marhoon. And on the stroke of halftime, Djibouti’s Ahmed Zakaria was shown a second yellow card following a VAR review. The booking came after he pushed Bahrain’s Mehdi Abduljabbar while pressing the goalkeeper, who had already collected the ball. The referee deemed it a reckless challenge, reducing Djibouti to ten men, stripping them of their main attacking threat and severely denting their hopes of a comeback.

Bahrain arrive in the Arab Cup as Gulf champions, having lifted the 26th Gulf Cup in January, but also carrying the disappointment of missing out on FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification and a run of poor results in friendlies. Head coach Dragan Talajic was confident heading into the tournament, saying, “We have come here to show that we were winners of the last Gulf Cup – we are the best in the Gulf, and now we want to show we are the best in the Arab world.”

After exiting at the group stage in 2021, Bahrain will be looking to make amends and push further in this year’s competition. Now placed in Group D, they will face defending champions Algeria, Iraq, and Sudan, who sealed their spot with a 2-1 win over Lebanon in yesterday’s qualifier. Bahrain enter the tournament carrying both the pride of their Gulf Cup success and the weight of a nation’s expectations.