Bahrain finish fifth overall in WAFF U-23 football

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain defeated Lebanon 1-0 last night to finish fifth overall in the third West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-23 Championship in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Mohammed Abdulqayoom scored the game’s winning goal in the 81st minute from inside the penalty box.

He came charging towards goal and received a perfectly placed pass, which allowed him to send a low, left-footed effort past the opposing goalkeeper.

The match marked the end of the under-23 Olympic football team’s participation in the regional competition, in which six nations competed.

The Bahrainis narrowly missed out on a place in the semi-finals by goal difference after winning and losing their two games in the preliminary round.

The tournament was part of Bahrain’s participation for the upcoming qualifiers of the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024, which will be held next year.

Olympic team head coach Dario Basic from Croatia named 23 players for the WAFF event, including Abdulqayoom, Mustafa Al Salem, Ahmed Rabia, Hassan Taha, Hussain Abdulkarim, Sayed Jawad Haider, Salem Hussain, Ali Mohammed Redha, Ammar Mirza, Adel Al Rumaihi, Saleh Al Zubaidi, Ali Kamel, Ahmed Kamel, Bashir Fouad, Ali Al Dosari, Ahmed Abdulhamid, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Omar Saber, Vincent Emmanuel, Hassan Abdulnabi, Hussain Al Ekri, Abdulrahman Al Kooheji and Abdulla Freah.

The AFC U23 Asian Cup is the premier continental event for Olympic teams.

Bahrain have taken part in the tournament just once in the past in 2020, when they did not make it past the group stage.

The 2024 tournament will mark the sixth edition.

The last event was played in June of this year in Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia were crowned champions among the 16 participating nations.

Bahrain did not qualify.