Australia vs Bahrain, 2026 World Cup Qualifying - AFC, Third Round
· FIFA World Cup Qualifying - AFCBahrain frustrate Socceroos in shock qualifier loss
A 10-man Socceroos outfit has suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Bahrain on the Gold Coast in a disastrous setback to their hopes of direct World Cup qualification.
Match Timeline
- 58': Kye Rowles (Australia) Yellow Card at 58'
- 58': Nestory Irankunda (Australia) Substitution at 58'
- 62': Abdulla Al Khalasi (Bahrain) Yellow Card at 62'
- 67': Husain Abdulkarim (Bahrain) Substitution at 67'
- 67': Ibrahim Al Khatal (Bahrain) Substitution at 67'
- 68': Alessandro Circati (Australia) Yellow Card at 68'
- 72': Mitchell Duke (Australia) Substitution at 72'
- 72': Harry Souttar (Australia) Yellow Card at 72'
- 77': Kusini Yengi (Australia) Red Card at 77'
- 82': Awer Mabil (Australia) Substitution at 82'
- 84': Mahdi Al-Humaidan (Bahrain) Substitution at 84'
- 86': Abbas Al-Asfoor (Bahrain) Yellow Card at 86'
- 88': Waleed Al-Hayam (Bahrain) Substitution at 88'
- 89': Harry Souttar (Australia) Own Goal at 89'
Statistics
 BHR |
AUS |
|
|---|---|---|
| 17 | Fouls | 13 |
| 2 | Yellow Cards | 3 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Offsides | 0 |
| 3 | Corner Kicks | 4 |
| 4 | Saves | 1 |
| 28.7 | Possession | 71.3 |
| 3 | SHOTS | 11 |
| 1 | ON GOAL | 4 |
| 0.3 | On Target % | 0.4 |
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Penalty Kicks Taken | 0 |
| 0 | Accurate Passes | 0 |
| 0 | Passes | 0 |
| 0.0 | Pass Completion % | 0.0 |
| 0 | Accurate Crosses | 0 |
| 0 | Crosses | 0 |
| 0.0 | Cross % | 0.0 |
| 0 | Long Balls | 0 |
| 0 | Accurate Long Balls | 0 |
| 0.0 | Long Balls % | 0.0 |
| 1 | Blocked Shots | 3 |
| 0 | Effective Tackles | 0 |
| 0 | Tackles | 0 |
| 0.0 | Tackle % | 0.0 |
| 0 | Interceptions | 0 |
| 0 | Effective Clearances | 0 |
| 0 | Clearances | 0 |
Game Information
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Attendance: 24,644
WCQ - AFC Table
| # | TEAM | GP | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 2 | +12 | 6 |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| 3 | Bahrain | 2 | -4 | 3 |
| 4 | Indonesia | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Line-Ups
Australia (4-2-3-1)
| No. | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Mathew Ryan (GK) |
| 4 | Kye Rowles  |
| 19 | Harry Souttar |
| 16 | Aziz Behich |
| 13 | Alessandro Circati |
| 8 | Connor Metcalfe |
| 5 | Aiden O'Neill |
| 22 | Jackson Irvine |
| 11 | Kusini Yengi  |
| 23 | Craig Goodwin |
| 6 | Martin Boyle |
Bahrain (4-4-2)
| No. | Name |
|---|---|
| 22 | Ebrahim Lutfalla (GK) |
| 2 | Amine Benaddi |
| 16 | Sayed Mahdi Baqer |
| 23 | Abdulla Al Khalasi |
| 17 | Vincent Ani Emmanuel |
| 4 | Abbas Al-Asfoor |
| 14 | Ali Abdula Haram |
| 8 | Mohamed Marhoon |
| 7 | Ali Jaafar Madan |
| 12 | Mahdi Abduljabbar |
| 19 | Komail Al-Aswad |
WCQ - AFC News
Football Australia chief executive James Johnson has backed Socceroos boss Graham Arnold to rebound from a winless start to the third phase of Asian qualification, saying the organisation would "put our faith" in the coach to engineer a turnaround.
From the Japanese juggernaut to numerical deficits not mattering, here's what we learnt from the third round of Asian qualifiers.
Graham Arnold's Socceroos are confronting the same challenges that led to such consternation last qualification campaign. Is anyone really that surprised?
In more ways than one, Son Heung-Min continues to come to the rescue of South Korea coach Hong Myung-Bo.
With a second impressive draw in six days, Indonesia are proving they can match it with the best in Asian football.