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) | ||
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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)[1] | ||
Top scorer | Ismail Abdullatif (48)[1] | ||
Home stadium | Bahrain National Stadium | ||
FIFA code | BHR | ||
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FIFA ranking | |||
Current | 76 (24 October 2024)[2] | ||
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.