Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Terengganu: Inaugural champions Bahrain opened the 2017 AFC Beach Soccer Championship with a 5-0 thrashing of China in Group A at Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia on Saturday.
It did not take long for 2006 champions Bahrain to open the scoring, skipper Rashed Jamal’s header flying past goalkeeper Chang Rui Qi and into the net within 60 seconds.
It was to be Jamal who once again breached China’s defence on 17 minutes, this time a neat turn and finish from distance doubling Bahrain’s advantage.
Seven minutes into the second period Bahrain notched a third courtesy of Hesham Ahmed’s header, before Mohamed Abdulla and Ayoob Salem added further goals to help Joao Almeida’s side comprehensively win the tournament’s opener.
The top three finishers at the AFC Beach Soccer Championship will represent Asia at the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in in Nassau, Bahamas from April 27 to May 7.
Photo: AFC