Hussain out of key Asian clash

Oct 14, 2013 (Menafn – Gulf Daily News – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) –BAHRAIN will be without inspirational captain Mohammed Hussain when they go head to head with Malaysia tomorrow in their third Group ‘D’ qualifier for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, reports Patrick Salomon.

The match will be played at the Shah Alam Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. It is scheduled for a 3.45pm kick-off, Bahrain time.

Hussain will be missing the match, team administration confirmed last night. The veteran centre back suffered an injury during Bahrain’s friendly match against Thailand in Bangkok last Thursday, and has since been resting and undergoing treatment.

The injury has not improved, however, and team physicians say that he will likely need at least another two weeks before returning to the pitch.

Hussain did not participate in last night’s two-hour training session under national team head coach Anthony Hudson. He did, however, work out at the team hotel.

A few of Bahrain’s other players are recovering from injuries. Abdulla Saleh, Abdulwahab Al Malood and Isa Ghaleb all suffered minor injuries during their Thailand tune-up, but have since been practicing without any difficulty.

Hussain becomes the third player Bahrain will be missing for tomorrow’s game. The other two are Faouzi Aaish and Abdulla Ismail Omar, both have flown back to their respective bases to tend to different matters.

The rest of the players in the team include Sami Al Hossaini, Abdulwahab Ali, Sayed Ahmed Jaafar, Abbas Ahmed Khamis, Hassan Jameel, Abdulla Al Hazza, Mahmood Abdulrahman, Sayed Mohammed Jaffar, Ashraf Waheed, Saleh Abdulhameed, Waleed Al Hayam, Hamad Al Dakheel, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Abdulla Saleh, Mohammed Al Tayeb, Hakeem Ali, Dawood Saad and Mohammed Salmeen.

Veteran

In the absence of Hussain, veteran midfielder Salmeen takes on the role as team captain, although it remains to be seen if he will be selected by Hudson for tomorrow’s starting 11.

Today, Hudson will be holding a pre-match Press conference at the venue. There will also be the technical meeting, to be attended by national team officials.

Bahrain’s clash with Malaysia will be their third Group ‘D’ tie of the Asian Cup qualification process. They have won both their earlier games — first a 2-0 away victory against Yemen and then a 1-0 home triumph over Qatar.

The Malaysians, on the other hand, have split their first two games, losing 0-2 to Qatar and then winning 2-1 against Yemen.

Following their game in Kuala Lumpur, Bahrain play the Malaysians again in the Kingdom on November 15. Bahrain then host Yemen in their penultimate qualifier on November 19 before facing off with Qatar in their last match on March 5 next year.

There are five groups in all in the Asian Cup qualifying competition, and only the top two from each, along with the best third-placed team from all the groups, make it through to the 2015 finals which are to be held in Australia.

A total of 16 national teams will be playing in the Asian Cup. Five spots have already been taken; they include a place for host nation Australia, one for 2011 Asian Cup winners Japan, another for 2011 Asian Cup third-placed South Korea, and a place for 2012 AFC Challenge Cup winners North Korea, while the fifth will go to the winner of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup.

The other 11 positions will be filled up by the ongoing qualification competition.

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