Preview: Georgia vs Bahrain - prediction, team news, lineups

Georgia and Bahrain will meet in an international friendly at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium on Friday evening, with both sides continuing their preparations for future competitions after missing out on a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

While the hosts' focus will soon turn towards the UEFA Nations League later this year, the visitors are already building towards the upcoming Gulf Cup and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

Match preview

Despite possessing some of the most recognisable players in their history, including Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giorgi Mamardashvili, Georgia were unable to secure a place at the 2026 World Cup.

The Crusaders finished third in their UEFA qualifying group behind Spain national football team and Turkey national football team, ending their campaign with just three points.

Even so, there is a growing sense of optimism around the national team – ranked 72nd in the FIFA rankings, Georgia are still relatively new to the international spotlight, having made their first major tournament appearance at UEFA Euro 2024, where they exceeded expectations by reaching the Round of 16.

After ending 2025 with four consecutive defeats in World Cup qualifying, Willy Sagnol's side have responded positively this year, as their unbeaten start to 2026 began with a 2-2 draw against Israel before a 2-0 victory over Lithuania, while their most recent outing saw them held to a 1-1 draw by Romania.

Giorgi Kvilitaia gave Georgia the lead early in the second half of that match, but Romania found an equaliser shortly afterwards.

Nevertheless, Sagnol will have been encouraged by his side's overall display, as they controlled possession for long periods and created the better opportunities throughout the contest.

That performance was made even more impressive by the absence of Kvaratskhelia, who is still being afforded additional rest following his Champions League triumph with Paris Saint-Germain.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Georgia and Bahrain, and the hosts will believe they have a good opportunity to extend their unbeaten run against opponents ranked 19 places below them.

Bahrain, however, will arrive determined to show they are capable of causing problems – currently ranked 91st in the world, the Reds have not played a match since December 2025 and will be using this fixture to begin their preparations for a busy international calendar.

Their last competitive action came at the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup, where they finished third in a group containing Algeria, Iraq and Sudan.

Bahrain suffered defeats to Algeria (5-1) and Iraq (2-1) but managed to defeat Sudan 3-1, providing one of the few positives during a difficult run of results.

Before that tournament, they had lost five consecutive friendly matches and remain without a win in their last six non-competitive outings, with a 2-2 draw against Qatar representing their only notable result in that stretch.

Head coach Dragan Talajic will be hoping these friendlies can help establish momentum ahead of the Gulf Cup later this year and the Asian Cup, where Bahrain have been drawn alongside North Korea, Jordan and Uzbekistan.

Georgia International Friendlies form:

Georgia form (all competitions):

Bahrain International Friendlies form:

Bahrain form (all competitions):

Team News

Georgia will be without long-serving captain Guram Kashia, who brought the curtain down on his international career in the draw against Romania.

The veteran defender made 129 appearances over an 18-year international career and captained the nation during their historic Euro 2024 campaign – he received a standing ovation after being substituted in the 64th minute, with Ilia Beriashvili expected to inherit his place in the starting lineup.

The hosts are also missing Georges Mikautadze and Zuriko Davitashvili through injury, while Kvaratskhelia remains a major doubt.

Bahrain travel with a squad containing several experienced internationals, including Mohammed Marhoon, Komail Al Aswad, Ali Madan and Mahdi Humaidan.

Mahdi Abduljabbar, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Amine Benaddi, Waleed Al Hayam and Abdulla Alkhalasi are also expected to play important roles for the visitors.

Georgia possible starting lineup:

Mamardashvili; Goglichidze, Lochoshvili, Beriashvili, Azarovi; Mamageishvili, Kochorashvili, Chakvetadze, Kiteishvili; Kvilitaia, Zivzivadze

Bahrain possible starting lineup:

Jaffer; Al Shamsan, Benaddi, Al Hayam, Al Khalasi; Madan, Al Aswad, Dhiya, Humaidan; Marhoon, Abduljabbar

We say: Georgia 2-1 Bahrain

Bahrain should provide a competitive test, particularly with several experienced internationals available, but Georgia appear further along in their development and have shown encouraging signs in recent months.

Even if Kvaratskhelia is unavailable, the hosts possess greater quality across the pitch and, backed by home support, should have enough to edge a closely contested encounter.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.