The Bahrain National Football Team and Saudi National Football Team tied in the fourth round of Asian qualifying games for the 2026 World Cup held at Al Jawhara Stadium in Jeddah on October 15.
The Saudi team missed a penalty kick in the 17th minute, which was taken by Salem Al Dawsari and saved by Bahraini goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfallah.
Saudi Arabia National Football Team head coach Roberto Mancini expressed disappointment toward Bahrain’s goalless draw.
According to the AFC Asian Qualifiers website, Mancini underscored the chances that their team missed out and didn’t pull off.
“Today we deserved to win but we missed many chances, and we missed a penalty kick, but overall we deserved to win,” said Mancini.
The coach added, “If we had scored the penalty kick against Indonesia and in today’s match as well, we would have had nine points. I tried everything I could, and I used all the attackers but we were not successful.”
Likewise, he said that his team forwards were not “at the required level.”
“Offensively, we are not at the required level. I used all the strikers with me to improve the situation but we were not lucky. This is not a matter of the moment, it is from a past moment and continues until now.”
On the other hand, Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic was thankful about the draw while commending his players for a job well done.
“I congratulate my players for this performance and for fighting on the pitch, they faced a strong team, but my players played with spirit,” said Talajic.
He continued, “We got a valuable point, and the race is still long to qualify for the World Cup, and I hope that both teams qualify together for the Finals.”
Because of this game, the Saudi team is in third place in Group 3 while the Kingdom’s team comes in fourth place as the two raised their points to 5.
Australia comes in second place, and Japan clinched the first spot with 10 points after tying with the former.
Bahrain will face China PR in a bid for a first FIFA World Cup Finals appearance on November 14.
Photo credits: AFC Asian Qualifiers / Website