Original Puma Bahrain 2010/12 football shirt

For the 2006 World Cup, the final round was reached, Japan and Iran were far too strong to force direct qualification, but third place over North Korea gave access to a Play-Off round against Uzbekistan. In the away game something strange happened, at a 1-0 score for Uzbekistan a Uzbekistan used a penalty, but the Japanese referee rejected the penalty and gave Bahrain a free kick. After the game, which ended in 1-0, Uzbekistan filed a complaint and was counting on a 3-0 official victory. FIFA acknowledged the referee's technical foul, but decided that the match should be repeated. This match ended in a 1-1 draw and after a scoreless draw in Manama, Bahrain qualified for the intercontinental Play-Offs against Trinidad and Tobago. A 1-1 draw in Port-Au-Spain provided the oil state with a good starting position for the Final Round in Germany, but the home game was lost 1-0 due to a goal from Dennis Lawrence.

A similar scenario took place in the race for a World Cup ticket for 2010, Australia and Japan were far too strong in the final group, but a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan secured third place in the group. In the first Play-Off round, now against Saudi Arabia, there was again a miraculous escape. After a scoreless draw in Bahrain, the score was 1-1 after 90 minutes, but in injury time the Saudis seemed to score the winning goal. However, a goal by Ismail Abdullatif in the last second led to qualification for the decisive intercontinental Play-Off, now against New Zealand. After a 0-0 draw in the home game, there was drama again in Wellington, with a 1-0 deficit Sayed Mohamed Adnan missed a penalty, causing Bahrain to miss another World Cup final round.

For qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, the prospects of reaching the final round for the fourth consecutive time were poor, Bahrain was three points behind Qatar for the last day of play and the difference in goal difference was large (+5 for Qatar, -4 for Bahrain). Bahrain booked a monster victory against Indonesia (10-0), but because Qatar scored the equalizer in Iran just before time, Bahrain was still eliminated. In 2007, 2011 and 2015, Bahrain qualified for the Asia Cup, but it did not go beyond the first round. The qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup was not a success at all, it finished fourth in its group behind Uzbekistan, North Korea and the Philippines.