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HOME > SAMURAI BLUE 2024 > NEWS > 【Scouting report】Team with two narrow defeats in intercontinental play-offs look to qualify for first World Cup with attacking football (AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road To 26) - Bahrain National Team

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【Scouting report】Team with two narrow defeats in intercontinental play-offs look to qualify for first World Cup with attacking football (AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road To 26) - Bahrain National Team

06 September 2024

【Scouting report】Team with two narrow defeats in intercontinental play-offs look to qualify for first World Cup with attacking football (AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road To 26) - Bahrain National Team

Following their first match of the FIFA World Cup 26™ Asian qualifier against China PR on 5 September, SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) will travel to Bahrain for their second match on 10 September. Bahrain also got off to a good start with a 1-0 win over Australia in their first match away from home and will be looking to build on that momentum as they look to secure back-to-back wins against Japan.

Bahrain have put up a valiant fight against Japan in the past. The most memorable was at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup in China PR. The semi-final between the two sides was a thriller, with Japan, led by coach Zico, winning 4-3 in extra time thanks to a late goal from TAMADA Keiji. In World Cup qualifying, the two sides met in the third round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifiers, with Bahrain winning 1-0 at home to Japan, coached by OKADA Takeshi.

However, Bahrain have never qualified for a World Cup. They came close to qualifying for both the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ and the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ but lost in the intercontinental play-offs to Trinidad and Tobago and New Zealand respectively.

In the second round of qualifying, which ran from November last year to June this year, the team finished second in their group behind the UAE, with three wins, two draws and one defeat. At the Asian Cup, held in January and February, they won the group stage and faced Japan in the round of 16. The team, led by Spanish coach Juan Antonio PIZZI at the time, lost 1-3 after conceding goals to DOAN Ritsu, KUBO Takefusa and UEDA Ayase.

After the tournament, there was a change at the helm, with Croatian coach Dragan TALAJIC taking over. At the Asian Cup, Japan coach MORIYASU Hajime described Bahrain as “a counter-attacking team with a very strong defence,” but in an interview with FIFA's official website, Talajic explained his approach: “I'm always for attacking football.”

The team, who are aiming to make their first ever appearance at the World Cup, will be built around a solid defence led by goalkeeper Ebrahim LUTFALLA and centre-back Waleed AL HAYAM, with technical midfielders Kamil AL-ASWAD, Ali MADAN and Mohamed MARHOON orchestrating the attack.

Record against Japan

2 wins 9 losses (8 goals, 20 against)

13 December 1978 ●0-4 8th Asian Games (Bangkok)
3 August 2004 ●3-4 AFC Asian Cup China 2004
30 March 2005 ●0-1 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ Final round of Asian Qualifiers
3 June 2005 ●0-1 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ Final round of Asian Qualifiers
26 March 2008 ○1-0 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ 3rd round of Asian Qualifiers
22 June 2008 ●0-1 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ 3rd round of Asian Qualifiers
6 September 2008 ●2-3 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Final round of Asian Qualifiers
28 January 2009 ○1-0 AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 Qualifier
28 March 2009 ●0-1 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Final round of Asian Qualifiers
3 March 2010 ●0-2 AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 Qualifier
31 January 2024 ●1-3 AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™

Results at the FIFA World Cup™

Appearances: none
※Achieved its independence from Great Britain in 1968
(Became a FIFA member in 1968)

1970 Did not participate
1974 Did not participate
1978 Eliminated in the qualifier
1982 Eliminated in the qualifier
1986 Eliminated in the qualifier
1990 Did not participate
1994 Eliminated in the qualifier
1998 Eliminated in the qualifier
2002 Eliminated in the qualifier
2006 Eliminated in the qualifier
2010 Eliminated in the qualifier
2014 Eliminated in the qualifier
2018 Eliminated in the qualifier
2022 Eliminated in the qualifier

Association Bahrain Football Association
FIFA Confederation Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
President Shk. Ali Bin Khalifa AL KHALIFA
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