BAHRAIN have little time to mope following yesterday's heart-breaking defeat to New Zealand, as they must now shift their focus to Yemen who they play on Wednesday in a qualifying clash for the 2011 Asian Cup.
The match, which will be held at the National Stadium in Riffa, is of utmost importance to national soccer coach Milan Macala, who hopes to secure qualification for the continental competition as quickly as possible.
In qualifying for the 2007 Asian Cup, Bahrain needed to go the distance to secure their berth, battling to a win in their final qualifier against Kuwait but only by the narrowest of margins.
Both Bahrain and Yemen are in group 'A' of qualification for the 2011 tournament. Japan and Hong Kong are the other teams. The Bahrainis are currently second in the group with a full six points from their first two matches, which include a 3-1 victory away against Hong Kong and a famous 1-0 win over Japan at home. The Japanese are top, also with six points but with a better goal-difference, having played one game more.
Wednesday's clash with Yemen was actually rescheduled by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for January 27 next year, so as to give the Bahrainis a breather following their do-or-die World Cup clash yesterday against the Kiwis.
But Macala had asked to have it returned to its original date, which is this Wednesday, so he will have a complete national squad at his disposal as they are already together for the New Zealand match.
Bahrain need only to finish among the top two in their group to secure a berth in the 2011 Asian Cup finals, which will take place in Doha.
Bahrain's second group game against Yemen was originally set for yesterday in Yemeni capital Sana'a, but that game was re-set by the AFC for January 20 to avoid the clash with the World Cup playoff.
Prior to that game, Bahrain host Hong Kong on January 6.
Their last qualifier will be against Japan in Tokyo on March 3.
A total of 19 teams divided into five groups are taking part in the qualifying competition for the Asian Cup.
Each group has four teams, with exception to group 'C', which comprises only Uzbekistan, Malaysia and the UAE.
Australia presently top group 'B', the Uzbeks group 'C', Syria lead group 'D' and Iran top group 'E'.
