45 min: Bahrain substitution Mahdi Al Humaidan replaces Ali Haram in midfielder. There will be three minutes of added time.

43 min They’re calling for a stretcher that he must have done some fairly significant damage. He’s lying back, not in obvious pain, so it might be a torn calf or something.

42 min There’s a break in play while Ali Haram receives treatment; I think he jarred his leg.

40 min Miller exchanges passes with Yengi and clips an early ball towards McGree in the area. He tries to help it across goal and it’s deflected behind for another Australia corner. Lutfallah claims it well, as he has two or three times in the first half. Souttar has yet to get his abundant noggin on the ball from a corner.

38 min “So important to have Goodwin back in the team, an integral part of how the clicks,” says Rob Haigh. “Why is Hrustic on the bench though?”

You can probably answer that better than me. McGree has been quite bright though and almost make a second goal for Yengi.

35 min With the caveat that they’re playing Bahrain not Brazil, I suspect Tony Popovic will be really happy with the performance so far. Australia are keeping the ball better than in any of the away games I’ve seen this year (I haven’t seen them all) and Mat Ryan has barely touched the ball.

33 min McGree’s deep cross from the right is headed over at the far post by … Miller. What’s he doing there in open play? No matter, he didn’t score. It was a tough chance, about a 0.05 on the old xG I would estimate.

31 min Classy play again from Matthews, who walks confidently out of defence and slides a crisp pass up to Yengi on the halfway line. He’s taken out by Benaddi to give Australia a free-kick.

30 min Bahrain’s win in Australia was their only victory so far in this group. They managed a creditable goalless draw away to Saudi Arabia and needed a 99th-minute equaliser at home to Indonesia.

29 min Goodwin gets to the byline on the right and stands up a nice cross that is just too high for Irvine at the far post. He gets under the ball and can only head it up in the air.

28 min “Popovic will absolutely lock things down and build from a ‘strong base’ to start,” writes Chris Paraskevas. “This is how he won the ACL with Western Sydney Wanderers and he’ll use the template again in Asia. I’m actually stunned that he went with Yengi over Duke, which amounts to a ‘positive’ move, all things considered…and Yengi’s mobility earned a priceless opener…can’t imagine Duke doing the same?”

Picking Matthews is a helluva call as well, even if des look the part. Yengi was a sensible pick, particularly as Bahrain play a very high line.

26 min Maty Ryan hasn’t yet had a save to make, a reflection of a secure defensive performance from Australia. At the other Ebrahim Lutfallah has saved one and scored one.

24 min: Chance for Yengi! Australia almost make it 2-0 on the break. McGree, in the inside-left channel, had a two v one and angled a pass into the area for Yengi. Benaddi was really well positioned, which meant McGree had to overhit the pass slightly for it to reach Yengi. That allowed Lutfallah to come off his line and smother Yengi’s shot. That’s a pretty good save.

22 min That was definitely an own-goal by Lutfallah by the way. At the moment it has been credited to Yengi but his shot wasn’t on target. Lutfallah, assuming it would be, dived desperately and ended up pushing the ball into his own net.

21 min Miller gallops down the right and whips a really dangerous cross that is put behind by the stretching Benaddi. Yengi was waiting behind him and would have had a great chance.

20 min Australia remain pretty comfortable with their 1-0 lead. They’re not in complete control – that’s reserved for Pep Guardiola’s teams – but they’re keeping the ball well enough and have not allowed Bahrain to generate any sustained momentum.

18 min “Rob, frankly speaking,” begins Rob Haigh, which is usually an ominous opening to an email. “I’m in Leeds, Yorkshire and I’m waiting for Wales v Iceland to kick-off in just over an hour so can the ‘Men At Work’ do us a big favour and provide some scintillating entertainment up here in the Northern Hemisphere do you think?”

As a neutral I wouldn’t say they’re associated with scintillating entertainment, but then nor were the England cricket team for about 100 years. Anything’s possible!

16 min Lewis Miller makes an important lunging tackle just outside the area, I think on Mohamed Marhoon. Had he missed that Marhoon would have been in.

15 min A better spell of ball retention from Australia. Nothing penetrative, but it beats gathering on the edge of your penalty area for 90 minutes.

Hayden Matthews hasn’t had much to do but he looks composed. As I type he slides a really nice pass between the lines to find McGree. He tries to release Yengi, who is flagged offside. That was good from Matthews.

Incidentally, the cricket fans among you will hopefully understand when I inevitable type Hayley Mattews instead of Hayden at some stage.

11 min It was Hayden Matthews, 30-odd seconds into his debut, who played the speculative pass forward that led to the goal. Sayed Dhiya missed it – he should probably have done better as well – and then Hamad Al Shamsan had a costly split-second brainfreeze.

10 min Australia’s greatest strength is probably defending in a low block. The early goal has allowed to exactly that. It’s not without risk – you can score too early in games – but for now they are keeping Bahrain at arm’s length.

7 min It looks like the goal has been given to Yengi, though I’d like to see another replay. Either way it’s a perfect start for him, especially after his red card in the return fixture.

6 min Bahrain have responded well to the shock of that early goal, playing some bright possession football and winning a corner that leads to a couple of headed clearance by either Souttar, Burgess or both.

5 min “I like that you’ve managed to slip in/on some Spandex references at 5am,” says Chris Paraskevas. “Have you been watching the ‘Original’ Batman & Robin? (1997…the one with Arnie as Mr. Freeze)

“I like Tony Popovic’s tactical solution after the goalless draw with N̶e̶w̶c̶a̶s̶t̶l̶e̶ ̶U̶n̶i̶t̶e̶d̶ Saudi Arabia: changing the goalkeeper (because apparently ‘keepers are modern football’s new libero). Sometimes I wish for simpler times i.e. 1997 and George Clooney as Batman.”

This will reveal me as a despicable human being but the last Batman film I watched was the 1989 one with Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger. Enjoyed The Penguin though, especially the pitch-black comedy.

2 min My word, what a start. The defending was terrible from Bahrain. In fact, Baqer’s errant backpass may have been their first touch of the entire match.

It was a shambles of a goal, not that Australia will care. The right wing-back Sayid Mahdi Baqer played a dreadful backpass, badly underhit, and Yengi was in. He walked round the keeper Lutfallah and reversed a shot that the diving Lutfallah could only push into his own net.

That might be an own goal you know; I’m not certain Yengi’s shot was on target.

GOAL! Bahrain 0-1 Australia (Yengi 1)

1 min Peep peep! We’re off, and already…

The two teams take the field on a sultry night in Riffa. Let’s have a quick reminder of the teams, not least because there’s been a change. Abbas Al Asfoor was injured in the warm-up and has been replaced in midfield by Abdulla Al Khalasi.

Bahrain (possible 3-4-2-1) Lutfallah; Benaddi, Al Shamsan, Dhiya; Mahdi Baqer, Al Khalasi, Haram, Marhoon; Al Khatal, Al Aswad; Madan.
Substitutes: Mohamed, Ani Emmanuel, Nabeel, Adbulkarim, Al Wadaei, Abduljabbar, Atede, Hazaa Ali, Al Sherooqi, Al Humaidan, Jaafar.

Australia (3-4-2-1) Ryan; Matthews, Souttar, Burgess; Miller, Caceres, Irvine, Behich; Goodwin, McGree; Yengi.
Substitutes: Degenek, Grant, Bos, Boyle, Geria, Hrustic, Borrello, O’Neill, Izzo, Duke, Gauci, Balard.

Referee Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

Fifteen minutes to kick off

Sorry for the silence – there was an issue with the live feed over here in the UK but I think it’s almost sorted. If not I’ll just make the whole nothing up. Anyone fancy a 5-0 win?

Read Joey Lynch’s preview

Time and time again, Australia’s men have threatened to fall off the pace, only for results elsewhere to throw them a lifeline. Just last week, Bahrain had the opportunity to vault over Australia and Saudi Arabia into outright second place, only for a 91st-minute winner from China to consign them to defeat in Riffa. That goal saw China, who are the only side in the group to lose three games but who also sit alongside Japan as the only team to win multiple times, move on to six points.

The teams in full

Team news: Matthews makes Socceroos debut

Preamble