Bahrain national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Bahrain women's national football team.

Bahrain

Nickname(s)	مُحَارِبِيّ دِيْلمُون (Muharabi Dilmun, Dilmun's Warriors) غَوَاصِيْنُ الْلُؤْلُؤْ (Ghawaseen Al-Lulu, The Pearl Divers) الأَحمَر (The Reds) الشياطين الحمر (The Red Devils)
Association	Bahrain Football Association
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	WAFF (West Asia)
Head coach	Dragan Talajić
Captain	Sayed Dhiya Saeed
Most caps	Sayed Mohammed Jaffer (162)
Top scorer	Ismail Abdullatif (48)
Home stadium	Bahrain National Stadium
FIFA code	BHR
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	81 (19 December 2024)
Highest	44 (September 2004)
Lowest	139 (March 2000)
First international
Bahrain 4–4 Kuwait (Baghdad, Iraq; 2 April 1936)
Biggest win
Bahrain 10–0 Indonesia (Riffa, Bahrain; 29 February 2012)
Biggest defeat
Iraq 10–1 Bahrain (Baghdad, Iraq; 5 April 1966)
Asian Cup
Appearances	8 (first in 1988)
Best result	Fourth place (2004)
Arab Cup
Appearances	6 (first in 1966)
Best result	Runners-up (1985, 2002)
WAFF Championship
Appearances	4 (first in 2010)
Best result	Champions (2019)
Arabian Gulf Cup
Appearances	24 (first in 1970)
Best result	Champions (2019)

The Bahrain national football team (Arabic: منتخب الْبَحرَيْن لِكُرَّةُ الْقَدَم) represents Bahrain in international football and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association, which was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so. Bahrain won the FIFA's most improved team award in 2004, and finished fourth in the 2004 Asian Cup, beating Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals but losing to Japan in the semi-finals 4–3. Bahrain then lost to Iran in the third-place match, thus finishing in fourth place overall. Bahrain had a golden year in 2019, winning both the WAFF Championship and the Arabian Gulf Cup for the first time, under the stewardship of Hélio Sousa.

History

The 1959 national football team

Early years

Even though the first national team was founded in 1959, Bahraini team was only first officially assembled in 1966 when they played a friendly game against Kuwait that was drawn 4–4. At that time, despite being under British rule, Bahrain was given autonomy and they had utilized this opportunity to expand its football development. Nonetheless, Bahrain was regarded as a weaker side in the Gulf Arab region, which constituted the stronger Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Kuwait. For this reason, Bahrain's international feat had been mostly limited in the Arabian Gulf Cup.

In 1988, Bahrain qualified for its first ever AFC Asian Cup, but finished bottom with only two draws in the 1988 AFC Asian Cup. Since then, Bahraini side remained neglected and less invested, despite its youth successes at the U-17 and U-20. Only by the end of the 20th century, Bahrain began to really emerge and would change the country's football history.

Rise

Bahrain managed a fine performance during 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification and 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification, the latter was the first time Bahrain reached the final round. Despite being unable to reach either of them, Bahrain managed one of their greatest football feats, by beating Iran in both qualifications 1–0 in Damascus in 2000 Asian Cup run, and 3–1 at home in 2002 World Cup run, which remains one of the most embarrassing defeats for Iranian football. This win, though mean less for Bahrain, did manage to pull Iran out from reaching a direct World Cup ticket and helped Saudi Arabia to qualify for 2002 FIFA World Cup, Iran later failed to qualify; Bahraini fans waved the Saudi flag as a response to this win, fueling tensions between Bahrain and Iran.

2004 Asian Cup

The form of Bahrain in 2004 AFC Asian Cup was a complete stunning for many. In their just second appearance, Bahrain was drawn with mighty host China, neighbor Qatar and Southeast Asia's finest Indonesia. However, Bahrain went on undefeated at the group stage, including a famous 2–2 draw to China in Beijing, 1–1 to Qatar before trashed Indonesia 3–1 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. Then, Bahrain overcame Uzbekistan on penalty shootout in the quarter-finals, having been held 2–2. Bahrain put up another astonishing performance against defending champions Japan, only lost 3–4 after extra time, before losing 2–4 to Iran in the third place game. This tournament would mark the rise of Bahrain as a serious competitor for football in Asia.

2006 World Cup

After Uzbekistan and Bahrain both finished third in their respective groups during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, Bahrain entered a two-legged playoff with Uzbekistan, which they won on away goals with an aggregate score of 1–1. This allowed Bahrain to enter another two-legged playoff with the fourth-placed CONCACAF nation, (Trinidad and Tobago), for a spot in the World Cup. But a 0–1 Bahrain loss in Manama after a 1–1 draw in Port of Spain saw the CONCACAF nation go through as debutant.

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - AFC fourth round play-offs
Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Uzbekistan	1–1 (a)	Bahrain	1–1	0–0
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC – CONCACAF play-off) play-offs
Bahrain	1–2	Trinidad and Tobago	1–1	0–1

2007 Asian Cup

Bahrain played in group D in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification group games. Bahrain fielded a side which was essentially the Olympic (under 23) team against Australia, and they lost 2–0. Bahrain qualified for the 2007 Asian Cup after defeating Kuwait in their last match. Bahrain were knocked out in the group stage via two losses against Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, despite a shock win against Korea Republic.

2010 World Cup

The Bahrain national football team playing Australia on 10 June 2009 in a World Cup qualifier

In the third round of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Bahrain were drawn into group B along with Japan, Oman, and Thailand. They finished second overall to qualify to the final round, in which Bahrain finished third overall in their group, below Australia and Japan, but above Uzbekistan and Qatar. In the second leg of the playoff against Saudi Arabia to decide Asia's fifth best team, Bahrain drew 2–2 with Saudi Arabia after scoring in stoppage time which allowed them to go through on away goals, after drawing their home leg 0–0. They went on to play New Zealand in the final playoff in which a victory would qualify them for the World Cup, but after a goalless draw in Manama on 10 October 2009, Bahrain lost the return leg 1–0 in Wellington on 14 November 2009, missing out on qualification at the last hurdle for the second time running.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fifth round play-offs
Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Bahrain	(a) 2–2	Saudi Arabia	0–0	2–2
AFC 5th place v OFC winner play-offs
Bahrain	0–1	New Zealand	0–0	0–1

Crisis period

2011 Asian Cup

Bahrain qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup held in neighbouring Qatar, and was drawn in a tough group composing Australia, South Korea and India. Bahrain faced its first task to overcome South Korea, with the hope to repeat the surprise 2–1 victory of the 2007 edition, but South Korea turned the deficit to beat Bahrain with the same score. After the loss, Bahrain cruised past India in a seven-goal party, Bahrain scored five to keep its hope alive; but its campaign ended in vain when they lost to Australia 0–1 and was dismissed from the group stages.

2014 World Cup

See also: Bahrain 10–0 Indonesia

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.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
Iran	6	3	3	0	17	5	+12	12	Fourth round		—	2–2	6–0	3–0
Qatar	6	2	4	0	10	5	+5	10			1–1	—	0–0	4–0
Bahrain	6	2	3	1	13	7	+6	9			1–1	0–0	—	10–0
Indonesia	6	0	0	6	3	26	−23	0			1–4	2–3	0–2	—

Source:

2015 Asian Cup

The 2015 AFC Asian Cup once again became a disappointment for the Bahrainis, even though their group was easier, with only Iran being the biggest opponent while the UAE and Qatar were no strangers. Bahrain lost two opening games against Iran and the UAE 0–2 and 1–2, the latter defeat was subject to the earliest goal in Asian Cup history by Ali Mabkhout. Bahrain salvaged some pride with a 2–1 win over Qatar, condemning its neighbour to bottom of the group while Bahrain finished third for the second consecutive Asian Cup.

2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup qualifications

In the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers second round, Bahrain finished fourth in a group with Uzbekistan, North Korea, Philippines and Yemen. The poor performance of the Bahraini side caused huge public uproar over the team's ongoing decline, rocked the chair of manager Sergio Batista. He was eventually sacked and replaced by Czech youth coach Miroslav Soukup, who decided to revamp the team.

Later on, Bahrain participated in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification, where finished first in the third round in a group with Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei and Singapore, to qualify to the next AFC Asian Cup. However, the team's performance was far from perfect. The team suffered a home draw to minnows Singapore, before getting humiliated by Chinese Taipei away 1–2 that was considered as a shock, since Taiwan is not a football nation. This defeat also prompted Bahrain's main star, Ismail Abdullatif, to retire from the team.

Bahrain managed some promising performance during this deteriorating era, reaching semi-finals of the 23rd Arabian Gulf Cup held in Kuwait.

Short-lived glory

2019: Asian Cup; WAFF Championship and Gulf Cup champions

At the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Bahrain was grouped with India, Thailand and hosts United Arab Emirates. The Bahrainis managed a promising early performance when they faced the hosts, scored a goal lead in 78', but was eventually held 1–1 following an unclear penalty decision by the Jordanian referee Adham Makhadmeh. However, Bahrain suffered a blasting loss to Thailand 0–1, leaving the team flounder despite its earlier performance. In the final match against India, which the Indians only required a draw to progress, Bahrain however managed to get a needed penalty in injury time, where Jamal Rashid turned hero as Bahrain won the fixture 1–0 to seal the team into the knockout stage for the only second times ever, and eliminated the Indians from the competition. The Bahraini side then played its own round of sixteen match, where they lost 2–1 to South Korea after extra time. This was considered as a major success for Bahraini football, and also to be the end of the country's football misfortune that endured since 2010s.

Afterwards, Bahrain managed to win two competitions for the first time, after defeating both Iraq and Saudi Arabia, 1–0 under the leadership of Hélio Sousa against all odds, in the WAFF Championship and Gulf Cup respectively.

2022 World Cup

Bahrain defeated Iran 1–0 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification Round 2, delivering a major upset in the qualifying process, and with Bahrain enjoying huge edge in the qualifiers, Bahrain was expected to reach the third round. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, Bahrain's great progression in 2019 was reversed when it lost significant home supports (despite being designated as hosts for the remaining games) due to pandemic, as fans were barred from attending, Iran having replaced manager as well, combining the Bahrain's domestic league under frequent disruption due to the pandemic, all left Bahraini players little time to organise their team. Bahrain triumphed against Cambodia 8–0 in their first game since the pandemic began, but against an Iranian side that was entirely revamped, a Bahraini side without home support was completely demoralised, losing 0–3 in process. This defeat proved to be disastrous for Bahrain, as their 4–0 victory over Hong Kong was too little, too late, due to Iran prevailing 1–0 over Iraq in the final game.

2023 Asian cup

In the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, Bahrain won their group (which contained Malaysia, South Korea, and Jordan). After a first matchday loss to South Korea, they followed it up with back-to-back wins, before falling to Japan in the Round of 16.

Team image

Rivalries

Qatar

Bahrain has a major rivalry against Qatar due to historical tension between the two countries. Through 39 matches played between the teams, Bahrain has an overall positive performance against Qatar, winning eleven matches, lost eight matches while nineteen matches ended in a draw.

Kit providers

Manufacturer Period Umbro 1981 Puma 1982 Grand Sport 1983–1986 Faisok 1986 Grand Sport 1987–1996 Puma 1997 Baraka 1998–1999 Kika 2000–2002 Shoot 2002–2003 Diadora 2003–2005 Puma 2005–2014 Romai 2014–2018 Macron 2019–2022 Puma 2023–present

Results and fixtures

Main articles: Bahrain national football team results (2020–present) and Bahrain national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

Bahrain v Australia

6 January Friendly	Bahrain	0–2	Australia	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
17:00 UTC+3		Report	Benaddi 36' (o.g.) Duke 61'	Stadium: Baniyas Stadium Referee: Mohamed Al-Harmoodi (United Arab Emirates)

Bahrain v Angola

10 January Friendly	Bahrain	0–3	Angola	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
18:00 UTC+4		Report	Dala 5' Mabululu 43' Fortuna 45'	Stadium: Police Officers' Club Stadium

South Korea v Bahrain

15 January 2023 Asian Cup GS	South Korea	3–1	Bahrain	Al Rayyan, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Hwang In-beom 38' Lee Kang-in 56, 68'	Report	Al-Hashash 51'	Stadium: Jassim bin Hamad Stadium Attendance: 8,388 Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Bahrain v Malaysia

20 January 2023 Asian Cup GS	Bahrain	1–0	Malaysia	Al Rayyan, Qatar
22:30 UTC+8	Madan 90+6'	Report		Stadium: Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium Attendance: 10,386 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Jordan v Bahrain

25 January 2023 Asian Cup GS	Jordan	0–1	Bahrain	Al Rayyan, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3		Report	Helal 34'	Stadium: Khalifa International Stadium Attendance: 39,650 Referee: Omar Al-Ali (United Arab Emirates)

Bahrain v Japan

31 January 2023 AFC Asian Cup R16	Bahrain	1–3	Japan	Doha, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Ueda 64' (o.g.)	Report	Dōan 31' Kubo 49' Ueda 72'	Stadium: Al Thumama Stadium Attendance: 31,832 Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)

Nepal v Bahrain

21 March 2026 World Cup qualification	Nepal	0–5	Bahrain	Riffa, Bahrain
22:00 UTC+3		Report	Al-Humaidan 2' Baqer 4' Madan 45+4' Al-Khattal 87' Abdullatif 90+6'	Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Attendance: 5,041 Referee: Alex King (Australia)

Bahrain v Nepal

26 March 2026 World Cup qualification	Bahrain	3–0	Nepal	Riffa, Bahrain
22:00 UTC+3	Baqer 7' Helal 18' Al-Aswad 36'	Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)		Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Attendance: 2,475 Referee: Ryo Tanimoto (Japan)

Bahrain v Yemen

6 June 2026 World Cup qualification	Bahrain	0–0	Yemen	Riffa, Bahrain
20:30 UTC+3		Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)		Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Attendance: 2,632 Referee: Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia)

United Arab Emirates v Bahrain

11 June 2026 World Cup qualification	United Arab Emirates	1–1	Bahrain	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
21:00 UTC+4	Adil 10'	Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)	Abduljabbar 4'	Stadium: Rashid Stadium Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Australia v Bahrain

5 September 2026 World Cup qualification	Australia	0–1	Bahrain	Gold Coast, Australia
20:10 UTC+10		Report	Souttar 89' (o.g.)	Stadium: Robina Stadium Attendance: 24,644 Referee: Omar Al-Ali (United Arab Emirates)

Bahrain v Japan

10 September 2026 World Cup qualification	Bahrain	0–5	Japan	Riffa, Bahrain
19:00 UTC+3		Report	Ueda 37' (pen.), 47' Morita 61', 64' Ogawa 81'	Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Attendance: 22,729 Referee: Rustam Lutfullin (Uzbekistan)

Bahrain v Indonesia

10 October 2026 World Cup qualification	Bahrain	2–2	Indonesia	Riffa, Bahrain
19:00 UTC+3	Marhoon 15', 90+9'	Report	Oratmangoen 45+3' Struick 74'	Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Saudi Arabia v Bahrain

15 October 2026 World Cup qualification	Saudi Arabia	0–0	Bahrain	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
21:00 UTC+3		Report		Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City Attendance: 35,437 Referee: Salman Ahmad Falahi (Qatar)

Bahrain v China

14 November World Cup qualification R3	Bahrain	0–1	China	Riffa, Bahrain
17:00 UTC+3		Report	Zhang Yuning 90+1'	Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

Bahrain v Australia

19 November World Cup qualification R3	Bahrain	2–2	Australia	Riffa, Bahrain
18:15 UTC+3	Abduljabbar 75', 77'	Report	Yengi 1', 90+6'	Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

Saudi Arabia v Bahrain

22 December 26th Arabian Gulf Cup GS	Saudi Arabia	2–3	Bahrain	Kuwait City, Kuwait
20:30 UTC+3	Al-Juwayr 73' Al-Shehri 86' (pen.)	Report	Abduljabbar 19' Al-Humaidan 38' Marhoon 76'	Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Attendance: 7,726 Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)

Bahrain v Iraq

25 December 26th Arabian Gulf Cup GS	Bahrain	2–0	Iraq	Kuwait City, Kuwait
20:30 UTC+3	Madan 38', 47'	Report		Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Attendance: 13,150 Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey)

Bahrain v Yemen

28 December 26th Arabian Gulf Cup GS	Bahrain	v	Yemen	Kuwait City, Kuwait
17:30 UTC+3				Stadium: Sulaibikhat Stadium

2025

Japan v Bahrain

Indonesia v Bahrain

Bahrain v Saudi Arabia

China v Bahrain

10 June 2025 (2025-06-10) 2026 World Cup qualification R3	China	v	Bahrain	China
--:-- UTC+8		Report

Current staff

Role	Name
Head coach	Dragan Talajić
Assistant coach	Goran Lackovic
	Isa Al Alawi
	Khalid Abdulghafour
	Salman Sharida
Goalkeeper coach	Sayed Khamis
Youth coach	Sulaiman Al Bulaihi
Analyst	Ahmed Kamal

Coaching history

As of March 2019

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

• Jassim Al-Maawada and
  Abdul-Salam Alam (1966)
• Hamada El-Sharqawi (1970–1974)
• Danny McLennan (1974–1975)
• Adnan Ayoub and
  Khalifa AlHamdan (1975)
• Jack Mansell (1976)
• Mal Thompson and Michael Gorman (1979)
• Ljubiša Broćić (1979–1981)
• Farouq Ahmed Ali (1981)
• Sebastião Pereira de Araújo (1982–1984, 1992–1993)
• Keith Burkinshaw (1984–1986)
• Robbie Stepney (1986–1987)
• Abdelmajid Chetali (1988)
• Mohamed Al-Arabi Al-Zouaui (1988)
• Uli Maslo (1990–1992)
• Adnan Ayoub (1992)
• Ivan Čabrinović (1994)
• Victor Stănculescu (1995–1996)
• Fuad Boshqar (1996)
• Josef Hickersberger (1997)
• Ernesto Rosa Guedes (1998)
• Alexandru Moldovan (1999)
• Ahmed D. Al Jalahama (2000)
• Wolfgang Sidka (2001–2002, 2005)
• Yves Herbet (2003)
• Srećko Juričić (2003–2005)
• Luka Peruzović (2005–2006)
• Riyadh Al-Thawadi (2006)
• Hans-Peter Briegel (2006–2007)
• Senad Kreso (2007)
• Milan Máčala (2008–2010)
• Josef Hickersberger (2010)
• Marjan Eid (2010)
• Salman Sharida (2010–2011)
• Peter Taylor (2011–2012)
• Gabriel Calderón (2012–2013)
• Anthony Hudson (2013–2014)
• Adnan Hamad (2014)
• Marjan Eid (2014–2015)
• Sergio Batista (2015–2016)
• Miroslav Soukup (2016–2019)
• Hélio Sousa (2019–2023)
• Juan Antonio Pizzi (2023–2024)
• Dragan Talajić (2024– )

Players

Current squad

The following 26 players were called up for the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup.

Caps and goals correct as of 25 December 2024, after the match against Iraq.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Ammar Mohamed	(1999-02-10) 10 February 1999	3	0	Al-Khaldiya
16	1GK	Sayed Mohammed Jaffer	(1985-08-25) 25 August 1985	152	0	Al-Muharraq
22	1GK	Ebrahim Lutfalla	(1992-09-24) 24 September 1992	28	0	Al-Ahli
2	2DF	Amine Benaddi	(1993-05-09) 9 May 1993	32	0	Al-Muharraq
3	2DF	Waleed Al Hayam	(1988-11-04) 4 November 1988	119	0	Al-Muharraq
5	2DF	Hamad Al-Shamsan	(1997-09-29) 29 September 1997	28	0	Al-Riffa
17	2DF	Hazza Ali	(1995-06-09) 9 June 1995	12	0	Al-Riffa
18	2DF	Mohamed Adel	(1996-09-20) 20 September 1996	37	0	Al-Khaldiya
21	2DF	Sayed Baqer	(1994-04-14) 14 April 1994	39	2	Al-Riffa
23	2DF	Abdulla Al-Khulasi	(2003-09-02) 2 September 2003	15	1	Al-Muharraq
24	2DF	Vincent Emmanuel	(2001-04-29) 29 April 2001	7	0	Sitra Club
4	3MF	Sayed Dhiya Saeed	(1992-07-17) 17 July 1992	121	8	Al-Khaldiya
6	3MF	Ahmed Al-Sherooqi	(2000-05-22) 22 May 2000	7	0	Al-Muharraq
7	3MF	Ali Madan	(1995-11-30) 30 November 1995	96	15	Al-Riffa
8	3MF	Mohamed Marhoon	(1998-02-12) 12 February 1998	71	17	Kuwait SC
9	3MF	Ebrahim Al-Khattal	(2000-09-19) 19 September 2000	26	4	Manama
10	3MF	Abdulwahab Al-Malood	(1990-06-07) 7 June 1990	85	5	Al-Muharraq
14	3MF	Abbas Al-Asfoor	(1999-02-02) 2 February 1999	16	0	Al-Ahli
15	3MF	Jasim Al-Shaikh	(1996-02-01) 1 February 1996	66	4	Al-Riffa
19	3MF	Kamil Al-Aswad (captain)	(1994-04-08) 8 April 1994	112	13	Al-Riffa
20	3MF	Mahdi Al-Humaidan	(1993-05-19) 19 May 1993	67	7	Al-Khaldiya
25	3MF	Sayed Al-Wadaei	(2008-07-08) 8 July 2008	0	0	Villarreal Youth
11	4FW	Ismail Abdullatif	(1986-09-11) 11 September 1986	133	48	Al-Khaldiya
12	4FW	Mahdi Abduljabbar	(1991-06-25) 25 June 1991	41	13	Manama
13	4FW	Mohamed Al-Romaihi	(1990-09-09) 9 September 1990	48	16	Al-Najma
26	4FW	Husain Abdulkarim	(2002-05-14) 14 May 2002	4	0	Al-Muharraq

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Abdulkarim Fardan	(1992-04-25) 25 April 1992	1	0	Al-Riffa	v. United Arab Emirates, 12 June 2024
DF	Ahmed Nabeel	(1995-08-25) 25 August 1995	11	0	Manama Club	v. Australia, 19 November 2024
DF	Mohamed Al-Banna	(1989-10-17) 17 October 1989	2	0	Al-Muharraq	v. Yemen, 6 June 2024
MF	Hasan Al-Karrani	(1997-11-27) 27 November 1997	2	0	Al-Muharraq	v. Nepal, 26 March 2024
MF	Ali Haram	(1988-12-11) 11 December 1988	58	5	Al-Riffa	v. Australia, 19 November 2024
MF	Moses Atede	(1997-12-17) 17 December 1997	8	0	Kuching City	v. Australia, 19 November 2024
MF	Sayed Sharaf	(2002-12-23) 23 December 2002	0	0	Al-Ahli	v. Saudi Arabia, 15 October 2024
MF	Mohamed Al-Hardan	(1997-10-06) 6 October 1997	29	2	Al-Muharraq	v. Nepal, 26 March 2024
FW	Hashim Sayed Isa	(1998-04-03) 3 April 1998	19	6	Al-Riffa	v. Saudi Arabia, 15 October 2024
FW	Abdulla Yusuf Helal	(1993-06-12) 12 June 1993	90	13	Bohemians 1905	v. United Arab Emirates, 11 June 2024
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Records

As of 15 October 2024

Players in bold are still active with Bahrain.

Most appearances

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Sayed Mohammed Jaffer	162	0	2004–present
2	Mohamed Husain	161	10	1997–2015
3	Salman Isa	160	24	2000–2012
4	Mohamed Salmeen	146	10	2000–2013
5	Ismail Abdullatif	135	48	2005–present
6	Sayed Mahmood Jalal	125	6	1998–2010
7	Hussain Ali Baba	124	8	2001–2016
8	Talal Yousef	118	28	2001–2016
9	Sayed Dhiya Saeed	117	8	2011–present
10	Waleed Al-Hayam	116	0	2010–present

Top goalscorers

Ismail Abdullatif is Bahrain's top scorer with 48 goals.

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Ismail Abdullatif	48	135	0.36	2005–present
2	Husain Ali	33	115	0.29	1998–2013
3	Talal Yousef	28	118	0.24	1998–2009
4	A'ala Hubail	26	88	0.3	2003–2009
5	Salman Isa	24	160	0.15	2001–2012
6	Faouzi Aaish	20	104	0.19	2004–2016
7	Mohamed Al-Romaihi	16	46	0.35	2010–2022
	Mohamed Marhoon	16	67	0.24	2018–present
9	Abdulla Yusuf Helal	13	90	0.14	2015–present
	Mahmood Abdulrahman	13	91	0.14	2006–2014
	Ali Madan	15	92	0.14	2016–present
	Kamil Al-Aswad	13	108	0.12	2015–present

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1954	Part of United Kingdom									Part of United Kingdom
1958 to 1966	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1970 and 1974	Did not enter									Did not enter
1978	Did not qualify									4	1	0	3	4	6
1982										4	1	0	3	1	6
1986										4	1	2	1	8	6
1990	Withdrew									Withdrew
1994	Did not qualify									8	3	3	2	9	6
1998										4	1	0	3	3	9
2002										14	7	4	3	17	13
2006										16	5	6	5	21	14
2010										20	7	7	6	19	17
2014										6	2	3	1	13	7
2018										6	2	0	4	7	9
2022										8	4	3	1	15	4
2026	To be determined									8	4	2	2	12	8
2030										To be determined
2034
Total	−	0/14	−	−	−	−	−	−		102	38	30	34	129	105

AFC Asian Cup

Main article: Bahrain at the AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup record										AFC Asian Cup qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1956	Part of United Kingdom									Part of United Kingdom
1960
1964
1968	Did not enter									Did not enter
1972	Did not qualify									4	2	0	2	8	4
1976	Withdrew									Withdrew
1980	Withdrew after qualifying									3	0	0	3	0	5
1984	Withdrew									Withdrew
1988	Group stage	9th	4	0	2	2	1	3		3	2	1	0	4	0
1992	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	1	5
1996	Withdrew									Withdrew
2000	Did not qualify									6	3	0	3	6	6
2004	Fourth place	4th	6	1	3	2	13	14		6	4	1	1	14	9
2007	Group stage	13th	3	1	0	2	3	7		4	1	1	2	3	6
2011		10th	3	1	0	2	6	5		6	4	0	2	12	6
2015		12th	3	1	0	2	3	5		6	4	2	0	7	1
2019	Round of 16	14th	4	1	1	2	3	4		14	7	1	6	25	13
2023		15th	4	2	0	2	4	6		11	7	3	1	15	4
2027	Qualified									6	3	2	1	11	3
Total	Fourth place	8/19	27	7	6	14	33	44		68	33	10	23	106	62

Gulf Cup

Gulf Cup record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1970	Runners-up	3	1	1	1	3	4
1972	Record annulled
1974	Group stage	2	0	0	2	1	8
1976	Fourth place	6	3	0	3	9	15
1979	Fourth place	6	2	2	2	8	9
1982	Runners-up	5	3	1	1	10	7
1984	Fifth place	6	1	2	3	3	6
1986	Fifth place	6	1	4	1	4	5
1988	Fourth place	6	3	0	3	4	4
1990	Third place	4	1	2	1	1	1
1992	Runners-up	5	3	0	2	6	4
1994	Third place	5	1	3	1	5	6
1996	Fifth place	5	0	2	3	4	8
1998	Fifth place	5	0	3	2	3	6
2002	Fourth place	5	1	2	2	4	6
2003	Runners-up	6	4	1	1	13	3
2004	Third place	5	2	2	1	10	6
2007	Semi-finals	4	1	1	2	4	5
2009	Group stage	3	1	0	2	3	4
2010	Group stage	3	0	1	2	4	7
2013	Fourth place	5	1	1	3	4	9
2014	Group stage	3	0	2	1	0	3
2017	Semi-finals	4	1	2	1	3	3
2019	Champions	5	2	2	1	7	6
2023	Semi-finals	4	2	1	1	5	4
Total	25/25	111	34	35	42	118	139

Arab Cup

FIFA Arab Cup record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1963	Did not enter
1964
1966	Group stage	4	0	1	3	7	22
1985	Runners-up	4	1	2	1	4	3
1988	Group stage	4	0	3	1	2	3
1992	Did not enter
1998	Withdrew
2002	Runners-up	6	3	1	2	8	5
2012	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	8
2021	Group stage	3	0	1	2	0	4
Total	Best: Runners-up	24	4	8	12	22	45

Asian Games

Asian Games record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951 to 1970	Did not enter
1974	15th place	3	0	0	3	1	15
1978	14th place	3	0	0	3	1	12
1982	Did not enter
1986	12th place	3	1	1	1	4	5
1990	Did not enter
1994	10th place	4	1	2	1	6	5
1998	Did not enter
2002 to present	See Bahrain national under-23 football team
Total	4/13	14	3	3	8	12	37

Arab Games

Arab Games record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1953	Did not enter
1957
1961
1965
1976
1985
1997
1999	First round	2	0	0	2	0	6
2007	Did not enter
2011	Champions	4	3	1	0	9	3
Total	2/10	6	3	1	2	9	9

WAFF Championship

WAFF Championship record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
2000	Did not participate
2002
2004
2007
2008
2010	Group stage	2	1	0	1	2	3	–1
2012	Fourth place	5	2	2	1	3	2	+1
2014	Third place	4	0	3	1	0	1	–1
2019	Champions	4	3	1	0	3	0	+3
Total	4/9	15	6	6	3	8	6	+2

Head-to-head record

As of 19 November 2024 after match against Australia.

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal scored	Goal against	% Won
Albania	2	2	0	0	6	0	100%
Algeria	2	0	2	0	0	0	50%
Angola	1	0	0	1	0	3	0%
Australia	8	1	1	6	4	13	12.5%
Azerbaijan	3	0	0	3	3	8	0%
Bangladesh	2	2	0	0	4	0	100%
Belarus	1	0	0	1	0	1	0%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	0	0	1	0	1	0%
Brazil	1	0	0	1	0	2	0%
Brunei	1	1	0	0	7	0	100%
Burkina Faso	2	2	0	0	5	2	100%
Burundi	1	1	0	0	1	0	100%
Cambodia	2	2	0	0	9	0	100%
Canada	1	0	1	0	2	2	50%
Cape Verde	1	0	0	1	1	2	0%
Chad	1	0	1	0	1	1	50%
Chile	1	0	0	1	0	2	0%
China	9	0	5	4	9	16	0%
Chinese Taipei	3	2	0	1	7	2	66.67%
Colombia	1	0	0	1	0	6	0%
Congo	1	1	0	0	3	1	100%
Curaçao	1	1	0	0	4	0	100%
Denmark	2	1	0	1	2	2	50%
DR Congo	1	1	0	0	1	0	100%
Egypt	1	0	0	1	0	1	0%
Finland	5	0	1	4	1	9	10%
Haiti	1	1	0	0	6	1	100%
Hong Kong	7	5	1	1	17	3	78.57%
Iceland	2	1	0	1	2	3	50%
India	7	6	1	0	16	4	92.86%
Indonesia	8	3	3	2	21	9	57.14%
Iran	19	5	4	9	13	32	36.84%
Iraq	31	5	13	13	26	50	38.33%
Japan	14	2	1	11	11	31	14.29%
Jordan	31	11	6	14	26	35	35.48%
Kazakhstan	2	0	0	2	0	3	0%
Kenya	2	2	0	0	4	2	100%
Kuwait	44	14	11	19	41	59	44.32%
Kyrgyzstan	8	6	1	1	17	7	81.25%
Lebanon	15	7	6	2	23	18	66.67%
Libya	5	2	1	2	9	8	50%
Malaysia	16	9	5	2	34	17	71.88%
Maldives	2	2	0	0	5	1	100%
Mauritania	1	1	0	0	1	0	100%
Morocco	2	0	0	2	0	5	0%
Myanmar	5	4	0	1	13	6	80%
Netherlands	1	0	0	1	1	8	0%
Nepal	2	2	0	0	8	0	100%
New Zealand	5	0	1	4	1	6	10%
North Korea	7	2	1	4	10	10	35.71%
North Macedonia	1	0	1	0	1	1	50%
Norway	1	0	0	1	0	1	0%
Oman	40	12	17	11	37	33	51.25%
Pakistan	1	0	0	1	1	5	0%
Palestine	9	4	1	4	12	8	50%
Panama	2	1	0	1	5	2	50%
Paraguay	1	0	0	1	1	2	0%
Philippines	7	4	2	1	10	5	71.43%
Qatar	40	11	12	9	30	34	42.5%
Saudi Arabia	38	7	12	19	26	55	18.42%
Serbia	1	0	0	1	1	5	0%
Singapore	10	8	1	1	18	6	85%
Slovakia	1	1	0	0	2	0	100%
South Korea	25	3	5	17	21	58	22%
Sri Lanka	1	1	0	0	1	0	100%
Sudan	3	2	0	1	4	3	66.67%
Sweden	2	0	0	2	0	5	0%
Syria	23	6	7	10	24	25	41.3%
Tajikistan	5	3	2	0	11	1	80%
Thailand	10	3	4	3	11	10	30%
Togo	1	1	0	0	5	1	100%
Trinidad and Tobago	2	0	1	1	1	2	25%
Tunisia	2	1	0	1	1	3	50%
Turkmenistan	6	4	2	0	15	5	83.33%
Uganda	2	1	1	0	3	1	75%
Ukraine	1	0	1	0	1	1	50%
United Arab Emirates	32	12	6	14	46	53	37.5%
Uzbekistan	11	2	5	4	8	15	45.45%
Vietnam	1	0	0	1	3	5	0%
Yemen	16	12	2	2	31	8	86.67%
Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0	5	2	100%

Honours

Regional

• Arabian Gulf Cup
  • Champions (1): 2019
  • Runners-up (4): 1970, 1982, 1992, 2003
  • Third place (3): 1990, 1994, 2004
• WAFF Championship
  • Champions (1): 2019
  • Third place (1): 2014
• Arab Games
  • Gold medal (1): 2011
• Arab Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 1985, 2002

External links

• Official website of the Bahrain Football Association
• Bahrain – FIFA profile