Bahrain W

Early years

Although Bahrain’s first national football team was established in 1959, the side was not officially organized until 1966, when it played a friendly match against Kuwait that ended in a 4–4 draw. During this period, Bahrain, despite remaining under British influence, had been granted a degree of autonomy that allowed the country to develop its football infrastructure. Historically, Bahrain was considered one of the weaker teams in the Gulf region, which included stronger sides such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. As a result, Bahrain’s early international participation was largely limited to the Arabian Gulf Cup.

Bahrain qualified for its first AFC Asian Cup in 1988, but finished at the bottom of its group with two draws. In the years that followed, the senior national team received limited attention and investment, despite notable achievements at youth levels, particularly with the under-17 and under-20 teams. It was not until the late 20th century that Bahrain began to show significant improvement, marking a turning point in the development of football in the country.

Bahrain delivered notable performances during the qualification campaigns for the 2000 AFC Asian Cup and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, reaching the final round of World Cup qualifying for the first time. Although the team did not qualify in either competition, Bahrain recorded significant victories over Iran—winning 1–0 in Aleppo during the 2000 Asian Cup qualifiers and 3–1 at home during the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. The latter result had implications for the regional qualification standings, as it prevented Iran from securing a direct World Cup berth and contributed to Saudi Arabia’s qualification. The match subsequently drew attention due to celebrations by some Bahraini supporters, which added to existing tensions between the two countries’ football fan bases.

2004 AFC Asian Cup

Bahrain delivered a strong performance at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup in only its second appearance in the tournament. Drawn into a group with hosts China, Qatar, and Indonesia, the team progressed through the group stage undefeated, earning a 2–2 draw against China in Beijing, a 1–1 draw with Qatar, and a 3–1 victory over Indonesia to advance to the quarter-finals for the first time. Bahrain then defeated Uzbekistan on penalties after a 2–2 draw in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, Bahrain narrowly lost 4–3 after extra time to defending champions Japan, before falling 4–2 to Iran in the third-place match. The team’s performance in the tournament is regarded as a significant milestone in the development of Bahraini football.

2006 World Cup

After both Uzbekistan and Bahrain finished third in their respective groups during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the two teams met in a two-legged AFC playoff. Bahrain advanced on the away goals rule after a 1–1 aggregate draw. This result qualified Bahrain for an inter-confederation playoff against the fourth-placed CONCACAF team, Trinidad and Tobago, for a place at the World Cup. The first leg ended 1–1 in Port of Spain, but Bahrain lost the return match 1–0 in Manama, allowing Trinidad and Tobago to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.

2007 Asian Cup

Bahrain competed in Group D during the qualification stage for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. The team fielded a largely under-23 squad in its match against Australia, which ended in a 2–0 defeat. Bahrain ultimately secured qualification by defeating Kuwait in their final group match. At the tournament, Bahrain were eliminated in the group stage after losses to Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, despite recording an upset victory over the Korea Republic.

2010 World Cup

In the third round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, Bahrain were placed in Group B alongside Japan, Oman, and Thailand, finishing second to advance to the final round. In the final group stage, Bahrain placed third behind Australia and Japan, but ahead of Uzbekistan and Qatar. This set up a two-legged playoff against Saudi Arabia to determine Asia’s fifth-placed team. After a 0–0 draw in the home leg, Bahrain earned a 2–2 draw in Riyadh with a stoppage-time goal, progressing on the away goals rule.

Bahrain then faced New Zealand in the inter-confederation playoff, where a win would have secured their first World Cup appearance. The first leg in Manama ended goalless on 10 October 2009, and Bahrain were defeated 1–0 in the return leg in Wellington on 14 November 2009, narrowly missing out on qualification for a second consecutive cycle.

2011 Asian Cup

Bahrain qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, hosted by neighbouring Qatar, and were placed in a group with Australia, South Korea, and India. In their opening match, Bahrain faced South Korea in an attempt to replicate their 2–1 victory from the 2007 tournament, but South Korea came from behind to win by the same scoreline. Bahrain then kept their qualification hopes alive with a 5–2 win over India. However, a 1–0 defeat to Australia in their final group match resulted in Bahrain’s elimination at the group stage.

2014 World Cup

In the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Bahrain did considerably worse. In the third round, they were drawn against Indonesia, Iran and Qatar. Although they managed to defeat Indonesia both home and away, they also lost 6–0 by Iran away from home, and drew their other 3 games. Although they had a higher goal difference than Qatar, they needed an extra point to advance to the next round, or Qatar had to be beaten by Iran in the final round. If they had also drawn to Iran away from home, they would have advanced. But neither luck came to them, and their campaign ended in the third round, their worst result since the 1998 World Cup qualifiers.