«Lead» the team's goal in the second round of the «joint qualifiers»
Pinto bets on Mabkhout, Cayo and Lima to cross Bahrain
Lima has high offensive capabilities. From the source
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The national football team will face Bahrain at 19:45 pm UAE time at Bahrain National Stadium, in the second round of Group H matches in the joint qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup, while Portuguese coach Paulo Pinto is betting on the team's attacking power led by Ali Mabkhout, Caio and Fabio Lima to top the group. The Whites aspire to consolidate their superiority over the Bahraini national team in terms of Asian confrontations that brought them together historically, as it is the seventh confrontation that brings them together after they previously met in six Asian confrontations, including two matches in the qualifiers for the Asian Cup finals and represented them in the Asian Cup finals, as well as two matches in the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup, as the Whites won five confrontations and drew one. The team hopes to reap the match points and raise its score to six points and be alone at the top of the group in which it shares with the Bahraini with three points, but it surpasses it on goal difference, and Yemen and Nepal meet in third and fourth place without points. In this match, the national team loses the efforts of Tahnoun Al Zaabi after medical tests proved that he had a cut in the anterior muscle. The team is expected to play the match with the same squad that played the Nepal match, with the possibility of making minor changes according to the technical vision of the coach and according to the conditions of the match and its importance for the team. On the other hand, the Bahraini team, led by Spanish coach Juan Pizzi, completed its preparations after starting its campaign in the qualifiers by beating Yemen with two clean goals.
UAE whistle officiates two Group E matches
The FIFA Referees Committee has appointed Emirati stadium judges to officiate today's matches in the second round of the joint Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The Football Association said in a statement that the UAE World Cup refereeing team, led by international referee Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, will manage the match between Uzbekistan and Iran, assisted by Mohammed Ahmed (first assistant) and Hassan Al-Mahri (second assistant). In the same group, the international staff consisting of Adel Al Naqbi (yard referee), Ali Rashid (first assistant) and Sabt Obaid (second assistant) were assigned to officiate the Hong Kong-Turkmenistan match.
Saudi refereeing crew manages the match
FIFA has appointed a Saudi international team to officiate the national team's match with its Bahraini counterpart, and the team of match referees consists of Mohammed Khalid Al-Huwaish (yard referee), Khalaf Zaid Al-Shammari (first assistant), Yasser Abdullah Al-Sultan (second assistant), Faisal Suleiman Al-Balawi (fourth referee), Malaysian Subramaniam Selerajin (referee evaluator), and Maldivian Abdul Hamid Abdul Ghafoor (match observer).
Bahrain Federation provides 4000,<> free tickets to Al Obeid fans
The Bahrain Federation provided 4000,<> free tickets to the Whites fans at the Bahrain National Stadium during the highly anticipated match.
The UAE Football Association said in a statement that "the right of the cabin, which includes 4000,2 seats, has been allocated to the fans of the team, where entry will be from the external gate No. (<>)."
. The Whites beat Bahrain in the direct confrontations «Asian». Won 5 times and tied one