# Bahrain at the AFC Asian Cup

Since the AFC Asian Cup was founded, so far, Bahrain has qualified for eight Asian Cups, starting from 1988 and since 2004 to 2027. Bahrain, in spite of its small population, has achieved numerous impressive results, notably beating South Korea and Qatar 2–1 in 2007 and 2015, or a thrilling match with Japan in 2004 which Bahrain lost. However, in all six appearances, Bahrain's best result has been a fourth place finish, in 2004. Since then, Bahrain has made the knockout stage twice: in 2019 and in 2023.

## Overall record

| Asian Cup record | Asian Cup record | Asian Cup record | Asian Cup record | Asian Cup record | Asian Cup record | Asian Cup record | Asian Cup record | |
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | |
| 1956 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1960 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | |
| 1964 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | |
| 1968 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | |
| 1972 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 1976 | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| 1980 | Withdrew after qualifying | Withdrew after qualifying | Withdrew after qualifying | Withdrew after qualifying | Withdrew after qualifying | Withdrew after qualifying | Withdrew after qualifying | Withdrew after qualifying |
| 1984 | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| 1988 | Group stage | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 1992 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 1996 | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| 2000 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2004 | Fourth place | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 14 | |
| 2007 | Group stage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | |
| 2011 | Group stage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | |
| 2015 | Group stage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| 2019 | Round of 16 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2023 | Round of 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |
| 2027 | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified |
| Total | 8/19 | 27 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 33 | 44 | |

## Head-to-head record

AFC Asian Cup matches (by team) :
| Opponent | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals Scored | Goals Conceded | Last Win |
| Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | DNW |
| China | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | DNW |
| India | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2019 |
| Indonesia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2004 |
| Iran | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | DNW |
| Japan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | DNW |
| Jordan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2023 |
| Kuwait | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | DNW |
| Malaysia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2023 |
| Qatar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2015 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | DNW |
| South Korea | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2007 |
| Syria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | DNW |
| Thailand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | DNW |
| United Arab Emirates | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | DNW |
| Uzbekistan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | DNW |

## 1988 Asian Cup in Qatar
### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | China | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Syria | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 4 | |
| 4 | Kuwait | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | |
| 5 | Bahrain | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 | |

## 2004 Asian Cup in China
### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | China (H) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Bahrain | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Indonesia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 3 | |
| 4 | Qatar | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 1 | |

### Third place play-off
## 2007 Asian Cup in Indonesia/Malaysia/Thailand/Vietnam
### Group D

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Indonesia (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Bahrain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 | |

## 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar
### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | South Korea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Bahrain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | India | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | −10 | 0 | |
| 10 January 2011 |
| South Korea | 2–1 | Bahrain |
| 14 January 2011 |
| Bahrain | 5–2 | India |
| 18 January 2011 |
| Australia | 1–0 | Bahrain |

## 2015 Asian Cup in Australia
### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Iran | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Bahrain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Qatar | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 | |
| 11 January 2015 |
| Iran | 2–0 | Bahrain | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 15 January 2015 |
| Bahrain | 1–2 | United Arab Emirates | Canberra Stadium, Canberra |
| 19 January 2015 |
| Qatar | 1–2 | Bahrain | Stadium Australia, Sydney |

## 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE
### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United Arab Emirates (H) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Thailand | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Bahrain | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | India | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head points: Thailand 3, Bahrain 0.

### Round of 16
## 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar
### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Bahrain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Jordan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | Malaysia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 1 | |