Bahrain stun 10-man Australia after late own goal in World Cup qualifier

GOLD COAST – Bahrain stunned Australia 1-0 after a late Harry Souttar own goal in the opening match of the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup at Robina Stadium on the Gold Coast on Sept 5.

The Bahrainis celebrated wildly after the final whistle, having recorded their maiden win over world No. 24 Australia, ranked 56 places higher, and made the perfect start to their bid to qualify for the Finals for the first time.

The Socceroos were already down to 10 men after the dismissal of Kusini Yengi, but the Group C contest still looked destined to end goal-less, until Abdullah Al-Khalasi’s cross was deflected into the net by centre-back Souttar.

The crowd of 24,644, who had expected a fifth straight Australia victory, were stunned into silence and the efforts of the Socceroos to get back on level terms in seven minutes of stoppage time proved fruitless.

“It’s a learning curve for the players... it was just wasn’t our night,” said Australia coach Graham Arnold.

“If you put one in the back of the net against these nations, they tend to fall apart a bit more. But we didn’t do that and kept them in the game. Very tough, but you’ve got to give full credit to Bahrain.”

Australia, aiming for a sixth straight appearance at the World Cup, dominated but were frustrated throughout the contest by a well-organised and technically adept Bahrain side.

The Australian cause was not helped by the red card shown to striker Yengi with 13 minutes left.

Yengi raised his foot too high when challenging Sayed Baqer for the ball and scraped his boot across the throat of the Bahrain defender, with the dismissal confirmed by the video assistant referee.

In another Group C encounter on Sept 5, Hajime Moriyasu’s Japan thrashed China 7-0 at the Saitama Stadium.

Wataru Endo and Kaoru Mitoma gave Japan a two-goal lead at the interval, before Takumi Minamino hit a second-half brace. Junya Ito, Daizen Maeda and Takefusa Kubo added to the scoreline as Branko Ivankovic’s side were comprehensively outplayed.

Skipper Endo said the win “wasn’t easy” despite the scoreline.

“We came onto the pitch with positive energy. We got the first goal from a set piece, and then we played our own football and the goals kept coming. We got the three points, and it was a great game,” he said.

It was a night to forget for China, who squeezed into the third round thanks to a superior head-to-head record over Thailand.

“Japan are very strong. They are the top team in Asia and it’s not just Asia – they are a world-class team. We will work together and see if there is anything we can learn from this game,” said Ivankovic.

In the later Group B clash, Hong Myung-bo’s first game as South Korea boss since he was reappointed in July turned out to be disappointing after his star-studded side were held to a goal-less draw by Palestine at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

The flat performance in front of over 59,000 fans was greeted by boos, as Palestine secured a point on their debut at this stage of qualification.

Neighbours North Korea opened their Group A campaign with a 1-0 away loss to Uzbekistan. REUTERS, AFP