Bahrain qualify for AFC event

Bahrain booked their tickets to the AFC U-19 Championship 2020 after drawing with Jordan 1-1 last night in their last game of their qualifying group, held in the Kingdom. Midfielder Adel Al Rumaihi scored for the home team with a penalty in the 19th minute. The Bahrainis were awarded the penalty after forward Abdulrahman Sayed was taken down in the box by Jordanian defender Danial Ahmed Afaneh. The Jordanians equalised with their own spot kick in the 73rd minute.

The result was the first draw in three games for the hosts, and they secured first place overall in qualification Group E with seven points. Jordan finished as runners-up with five points after posting their second straight stalemate. Bahrain have now ensured their 10th appearance in the prestigious Asian Football Confederation (AFC) under-19 event. Meanwhile, Bhutan finished third in the group after coming from behind to beat Bangladesh 2-1 in their final game.

Both teams were already eliminated from contending for a spot for the AFC U-19 Championship. Dorji Khando scored a late winner two minutes into stoppage time to break a 1-1 deadlock and claim the full three points, which was their first of the qualifiers. Bangladesh went ahead in the 18th minute when captain Yeasin Arafat found the net. That was enough for the lead at the half, but Bhutan fought back and Yeshi Dorji equalised in the 65th minute.

That set the stage for a tense finish and Khando’s end-game heroics. Bahrain’s best finish in the under-19 competition was second place in 1986. They had also finished third in 1977, and in the last time the Bahrainis qualified in 2016 when the competition was held in the kingdom, the nationals made it through to the quarter-finals. They ultimately finished seventh overall that year.