Qatar qualify for 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup after dramatic win over Bahrain

Qatar secured qualification for the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup, after defeating Bahrain 2-1 in a thrilling encounter on Tuesday evening at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha.

With this third consecutive victory in the qualifiers, Al-Annabi topped Group H with nine points. Bahrain remained on three points in third place, while India finished second with six points following their 6-0 win over Brunei, who ended the campaign bottom of the group without a point.

Bahrain took the lead through Abdulrahman Al-Khayyat in the 70th minute, but Qatar fought back deep into stoppage time. Al-Hashmi Hussain equalised in the first minute of added time, before Jassim Al-Sharshani converted a penalty in the ninth minute of stoppage time to seal a dramatic comeback.

Qatar were forced to finish the match with ten men after Ayoub Alawi was sent off three minutes before the final whistle.