International
Asian Cup: Bahrain
Bahrain will hope to cause an upset in the 2007 Asian Cup and they just might. But recent history is against them.
By Eamonn FlanaganGoing by that, they should miss out… just.
They’re a lively side that showed against Australia in a qualifying game in Manama – they’ll cause problems for higher-ranked sides. Just a post away from a 2-0 nil lead against the Aussies, they ended up losing 3-1. Bahrain eventually finished second to Australia in their qualifying group for
the tournament.
Bahrain was also just 10 seconds away from knocking out powerhouse Japan in the 2004 Asian Cup. They finished fourth in that competition after drawing with China in the group stages, defeating Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals on penalties, before losing 4-3 after extra-time to Japan in the semi-finals. They just missed out to Dwight Yorke’s Trinidad and Tobago for a 2006 World Cup spot.
Lots of near misses, and with tournament favourites Saudi Arabia and South Korea in their group, it will be hard to produce a performance to match 2004.
With a population of just 688,000 people, Bahrain has punched above its weight in recent years. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa offered large bonuses to the team for World Cup qualification so one suspects players will again be well-rewarded should they get through to the knock-out rounds here.
With many players playing in the Qatar national league, the Bahrain team is improving. They could just sneak through this group, most likely at the expense of Saudi Arabia.
They are a close-knit group who play on the counter-attack. Captain Talal Yousuf and Salman Issa both scored goals in qualifying. They will need to produce again if Bahrain is to succeed. Yousuf and Ala’a Hubail are key players. Both were named in the All-Star team of Asian Cup 2004. Hubail emerged as one of Asia’s finest attacking talents during the 2004 tournament. Yousuf has excellent distribution and his strong driving runs from midfield inspire others.
Goals may be a problem and Bahrain fans can expect some nervous minutes if they are to get through. Coach Macala has had some success in the Gulf Cup with Kuwait but this test will be more difficult. If they can get off to a good start with victory over Indonesia they will meet Saudi Arabia in a fight to the death in the last group game.
Bahrain are certainly no mugs and are quite capable of matching their 2004 Asian Cup performance.
FourFourTwo verdict
Bahrain to miss out, but only just!
FourFourTwo 2008
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This article appeared in the July, 2007 issue of FourFourTwo magazine. To buy back copies of this issue call 03-8317-8121 with a credit card to hand.
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