Bahrain U17 Exit AFC Qualifiers

TDT | Manama

Email : hussainm@newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s U17 national football team suffered a 2-1 defeat against Bangladesh yesterday at Ying Shan Stadium in China, during the fourth round of Group A in the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers.

Hussein Zuhair scored the team’s only goal in the 85th minute, but it proved too late to change the outcome. With this result, our team’s hopes of advancing to the final tournament were officially ended, as their points total remains at six, placing them third in the group.

Prior to this match, our team had recorded two wins: a 3-0 victory over Timor-Leste and a 2-1 win against Sri Lanka. They opened the campaign with a 4-0 loss to China.

Bangladesh’s win took them to 12 points, securing their position at the top of the group. Our U17s still have one remaining group-stage match against Brunei Darussalam on Sunday, though it will no longer affect their qualification status.

Only the winners of each of the seven qualifying groups will advance to the AFC U17 Asian Cup, joining nine pre-qualified teams representing Asia at the FIFA U17 World Cup 2025 in Qatar. The pre-qualified nations include North Korea, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, the UAE, and Uzbekistan.