Talajic aims for a World Cup place with Bahrain after winning the Gulf Cup

Bahrain coach Dragan Talajic hopes that winning this month’s Gulf Cup will motivate the team to qualify for their first World Cup and break their long struggle to qualify.

Bahrain won the regional title by defeating Oman 2-1 in Kuwait on January 4. This is their second time winning the prize and it boosts their confidence for the World Cup.

“After winning the Gulf Cup, we felt a big boost and are excited to carry this positive energy into the World Cup qualifiers,” Talajic told Reuters.

“I believe this generation will make history for Bahraini football in the World Cup.”

The island country, with about 1.5 million people, is located in a narrow area of the Gulf between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It has never qualified for the World Cup before.

They have nearly qualified two times. In 2006, they lost to Trinidad and Tobago in a playoff for the chance to go to Germany. Four years later, they faced the same situation and lost to New Zealand.

FIFA is expanding the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams for the next tournament. This means that eight Asian countries will qualify straight for 2026. This change, along with hiring Talajic, has boosted the confidence of Bahrain’s team.

The 59-year-old has spent most of his coaching career in the Gulf. He was Bahrain’s technical director before taking over from Juan Antonio Pizzi after the team was eliminated from the Asian Cup in February.

Talajic made an immediate difference for his team, helping them through the last matches of the second part of Asian qualifying and into the third round. Bahrain started their campaign in September with a narrow 1-0 victory over Australia.

As of November, Bahrain had earned six points in Group C from ties against Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. They were far behind the winner, Japan, but only one point behind the second-place team, Australia, before a four-month break in the preliminaries.

Bahrain will play against Japan on March 20 for the Gulf Cup, a tournament that includes strong teams from the Middle East like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Qatar. Bahrain already has this title in their collection of trophies.

Bahrain won by beating Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the group stage. They then won against the host team, Kuwait, in the semi-finals, and finished with a 2-1 victory over Oman in the final, thanks to an own goal by Mohammed Al-Musalami in the 80th minute.

“Maintaining our focus helps us perform at our best,” said Talajic, whose team also gained from a late winner in their semi-final.

“We get ready for everything that happens on the field, and we understand that the outcome can change at any time.”

“We arrived in Kuwait feeling hopeful and eager, aware that we would be competing against strong teams thought to be likely champions.”

The main focus is on qualifying for the World Cup. We understand that the road is tough.