GOALS SET

OK folks. The seat belt sign is on as Bahrain begins another long and arduous journey towards the ultimate glory - a berth in the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa.

The ride ahead won't be smooth for sure as 20 teams wrestle for four automatic berths reserved for Asia (a fifth is possible through Oceania playoff). The journey won't begin until February 6 next year, and will go on for close to two excruciating years. But the excitement has already begun.

Bahrain is drawn with Asian giants Japan, Oman and Thailand in Group Two. It is not the Group of Death for sure, as Group One, with Australia, China, Iraq and Qatar, looks more like it, as only one of them will be able to get through to the World Cup finals.

Bahrain, by contrast, looks to be in an intriguing group with an array of possibilities. Intriguing? We will come to it later.

Let's look at the FIFA rankings first. Japan is at the top - ranked 36th. Then there is a wide chasm with Bahrain at No 96. Oman comes in at No 81 and Thailand completes the group at No 114.

With two teams qualifying for the fourth stage, it is safe to say that Bahrain and Oman will be vying for the runners-up spot with Thailand expected to give the two Arab countries a close run. The problem begins in the final qualifying round where the two group winners and runners-up qualify for the finals and two third-placed teams battle for a play-off berth.

That is IF (a big one) Bahrain makes it to the final qualifying round. If you remember, Bahrain last time made it before losing to Trinidad in the final play-offs. Also, Japan was in Bahrain's group in the final qualifying round. But Bahrain lost to Japan in a bitter duel at the National Stadium.

Much has changed since those heady days. Oman, for instance, has come a long way, much to the discomfort of Bahrain, reaching the final of the Gulf Cup where they lost to Qatar. Thailand also created a wave or two at the Asian Cup which it co-hosted.

Bahrain, on the other hand, has been in transitional mode lately, performing in fits and starts, and raising more questions than providing answers. Making it to Sunday's draw itself was a tricky journey as they eventually edged out Malaysia after another below par performance.

The Bahrain Olympic team, the main source of talent for the senior team, meanwhile, ran out of steam towards its journey to Beijing.

The team could not get past Syria and eventually lost out to South Korea after a goal-less draw in Seoul when it needed a victory to go into the final qualifying round.

But it's not all gloom and doom. Bahrain coach Milan Macala is quite optimistic about his team's chances.

"This is now a very good opportunity for us to grow for the future," he said talking to our sister publication Gulf Daily News after the Olympic team's match against South Korea.

"Many of these young players have what it takes to be on our first team. We must continue to develop them; get more experience and play more matches.

"This team is built to be strong for many years to come. Everybody hopes that we can work seriously and be ready for more chances," the 64-year-old added.

Interestingly, Macala was the coach of the Oman team before he took over Bahrain earlier this year. The break-up was quite acrimonious. Now Oman are Bahrain's arch-rivals in Group Two. Intriguing, isn't it?

To add to this intrigue is the fact that Japan beat all its three opponents in Group Two on the way to winning the Asian Cup in 2004, including a heart-stopping victory over Bahrain in the semi-finals.

Bahrain came from 2-1 down to take a 3-2 lead through Duaij Nasser with just five minutes remaining. Defender Yuji Nakazawa leveled with an injury time header before Keiji Tamada notched his second of the game to make it 4-3 and end Bahrain's brilliant victory run.

Just thinking of that match gives me a heady feeling. Now Bahrain and Japan are locked again to raise expectations of another saga of perseverance, resistance, endurance and patience. Along the way, there will be heroes and zeroes, thrills and spills, cheers and tears and ecstasy and agony, apart from drama and scandals.

Sunday's draw has thrown up many other exciting battles. The two Koreas are together in the Group Three of Asia while US are in line to meet Cuba in the Concacaf section. England, meanwhile, are drawn against their recent nemesis Croatia.

All in all, over 170 countries are set for a marathon tussle to win one of the 31 slots available (South Africa has hosts will be the 32nd team) for the World Cup final to be held in 30 months time. In that time a total of 861 qualifying matches are to be played. The journey ahead is certainly bumpy. So, folks, keep the seatbelt on till we touch down in South Africa in 2010.