Doha: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Referees Committee has assigned a Qatari officiating team to officiate the Japan vs. Bahrain match in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. The team includes Abdulrahman Al-Jassim as the main referee, Talib Salim Al-Marri as the first assistant referee, Saud Ahmed as the second assistant referee, Abdulhadi Al-Ruwaili as the fourth official, and Khamis Al-Marri and Mshari Al-Shamri as video match officials. The match will take place on Thursday, March 20, at Saitama Stadium in Japan, as part of the seventh round of Group 3 in the Asian qualifiers. Meanwhile, referee assessor Abdulrahman Abdo will oversee the Iraq vs. Kuwait match, also scheduled for March 20 at Basra International Stadium, in the same round of qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.