Bahrain in friendly stalemate with Canada
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain put on an inspired performance last night in a 2-2 deadlock against FIFA World Cup 2022 participants Canada in an international friendly match at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town.
Mahdi Humaidan and Abdulla Yusuf were on target for the home side, who took the lead early in the second half before conceding an equaliser in the last 10 minutes.
Scoring for the Canadians were Ismael Kone and Lucas Cavallini.
The match was played as part of Bahrain’s preparations for their long-awaited title-defence in the 25th Gulf Cup, while the Canadians are gearing up for their campaign in Doha at the World Cup kicking off later this month.
The Canadians were first to score in the match in the early moments through Kone, who had a one-on-one with Bahrain goalkeeper Ebrahim Luthfallah on a counter-attack, and he made no mistake with his effort, sending the ball into the topright corner of goal.
Humaidan then replied for Bahrain in the 13th minute, finding the net from inside the box. He received an assist from Yusuf on a low cross from the right, and Humaidan fired home.
That was enough to send the game tied heading into the break. In the second half, the Bahrainis took a stunning lead in the 64th minute when Mohammed Jassim Marhoon was taken down in the area by Canada’s Alistair Johnston.
Yusuf stepped forward to take the spot kick, which he sent home into the bottom-right corner past Canada’s Dayne St Clair.
Bahrain appeared on the way to a famous victory but the Canadians were able to level the proceedings with only nine minutes remaining in regular time.
Zachary Brault-Guillard sent in a cross from the right of the area, and Cavallini was able to tap home from the face of goal due to some porous Bahrain defending.
The visitors pressed hard for a winner until the final whistle, but the Bahrainis were able to hold their own on the back line and maintain the score for the draw.
Bahrain’s friendly against Canada last night was the first of two during their ongoing training camp under head coach Helio Sousa.
The other will also be against another FIFA World Cup participant in Serbia on Friday next week.
The Gulf Cup, which is scheduled to take place in January of next year in Iraq. Bahrain won the previous edition of the Gulf Cup in 2019.
It was an historic achievement for the national team after winning the title for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Bahrain hosted the first-ever edition of the regional competition in 1970 but had previously never won until then.
They finished as runners-up four other times.
Bahrain will also be taking part in the AFC Asian Cup 2023. The continental showcase will be held in June and July.
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