GET BEHIND US

NEW head coach Peter Taylor has made a rallying call to fans to get behind the country as Bahrain sets out on its latest World Cup adventure, writes Mai Al Khatib.

Bahrain will be playing neighbours Qatar at the National Stadium in Riffa on September 2 and Taylor hopes for a packed stadium to roar on the home side.

It’s the start of the long road to Brazil for the finals in three years time and comes after two agonising defeats in the last play-off stage in the past two World Cup endeavours.

He said: “It would be lovely to make it third time lucky. We need everyone to enjoy this experience and in order to do it we need the support of the fans to come out and watch us play.

“I urge all fans to get behind us and enjoy watching our team play some great football. Your support could make all the difference.”

The 2014 Preliminary Draw, which took place at the Marina da Gloria in Rio de Janeiro last Saturday, had also pitted the national side against Iran and underdogs Indonesia in Group E of the Asian Zone.

The home and away clashes against Iran will certainly be intriguing encounters on and off the pitch, particularly as Iran has been accused of interfering during the recent political unrest in Bahrain.

Taylor said: “I think one thing I have learned ever since becoming involved in international football is that you must always show respect for the opposition.

 “Many countries such as Indonesia may be ranked lower than us but they are constantly improving.

“Qatar and Iran will be strong teams but we are in a good group and now the most important thing we can do is make sure we prepare correctly and give ourselves every chance to proceed further.

“Recent and past results are not going to make a difference – it’s the next results that are of importance to us. We need to look ahead. At the moment we are in preparation mode for Qatar, followed by an away game against Indonesia on September 6.”

The squad is currently preparing for the matches by following a gruelling training regime to improve fitness levels before leaving for a training camp in Dubai on August 7. Taylor added: “Fitness levels were the only thing I found a little disappointing at first but the players have been working exceptionally hard to improve. 

“There has been a lot of running and we have looked at body strength too. I am also very pleased with their attitudes. After about 10 sessions with the majority of the players here I have noticed a great improvement and the players should be applauded for that.”

A record 203 teams will be competing in the preliminary competition for Brazil 2014 – a number that will be whittled down to the 31 who will join the hosts for the 20th FIFA World Cup Finals.

The top two teams from Bahrain’s group will advance to Round 4 which will be made up of 10 countries divided into two groups.