Bahrain is determined to make the most of the opportunity to replay its World Cup Asian zone play-off against Uzbekistan on Saturday.

The Gulf side, beaten 1-0 by the central Asians when the two teams met in Taskhent on September 3, has an invaluable opportunity to breathe life into the campaign to make to Germany after FIFA ruled out the result after a blunder by the Japanese referee, who disallowed a successful Uzbekistan penalty goal and instead awarded Bahrain a free-kick.

That goal, had it stood, would have put the central Asians 2-0 and would certainly have made them favorites to advance to a play-off with the the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF qualifying campaign.

FIFA's decision, made after Uzbekistan launched an appeal, has not gone down well in central Asia but has certainly met with the approval of the west Asians.

"We were been under a lot of pressure before the previous match," said Bahrain team manager Abdulrazzaq Mohammed.

"The previous time, it's fair to say we didn't know too much about Uzbekistan or playing in Tashkent, but now there is nothing new here for us and we know what it is like here. We are much better prepared for Saturday's game."

Not only do Bahrain has the chance to make amends for its lacklustre showing last month -- and a less than impressive World Cup 2006 campaign, which saw it win just once in six Group B games-- but they can call upon A'ala Hubail, who who missed almost the entire year with injury.

The 23-year-old striker was joint top scorer at last year's Asian Cup and, although he has only played one league game since a knee operation and is therefore unlikely to play the whole game, his presence in the squad is a real boost for Luka Peruzovic.

"It's great news for us that Hubail is back and I am certainly looking forward to playing him on Saturday," said Peruzovic after Bahrain's first training session in the JAR stadium in Tashkent onThursday.

"He is one of few players that can make a difference in big games."

Peruzovic, who who took over from Wolfgang Sidka as Bahrain coach in August, has been trying to instill an upbeat mood among his players.

"I am confident we can achieve a good result in the first leg and win the tie," said Peruzovic.

"I feel confident and now I am trying to transfer that confidence to my players as well.

"If you remember our previous game, we played better and created better chances than Uzbekistan, especially in the second half, so I have good reason to be satisfied with our game.

"We will try for a better result on Saturday but there is stillthe second match in Manama. I think we are going to qualify."

A big difference for Peruzovic is that many of his players now have more games under their belts compared with a month ago.

Ten of the squad play their club football outside Bahrain, either in Qatar, Kuwait or the UAE, where the seasons are now under way. Most of these players have played at least three games for the clubs, meaning they are sharper and fitter than a month ago.

"The most important lesson from the previous game is to be ready for the whole 90 minutes of pressure from Uzbekistan," said Peruzovic.

The game kicks off at 17.05 local time. The second leg takes place on Wednesday in Manama.

Source: Xinhua