Bahrain outclass Malaysia in friendly

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain defeated Malaysia 2-0 last night in an international friendly match played at the National Stadium in Riffa. Mahdi Abduljabbar and substitute Mohammed Marhoon scored on either side of half-time for the hosts.

The tune-up was part of both teams’ preparations for their remaining joint-qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023.

The Bahrainis will be playing their Group C matches at home starting next week while the Malaysians will be joining the rest of the teams in Group G for their matches in Dubai.

It was the second exhibition game for Bahrain in less than a week. They had previously played European giants Ukraine in Kharkiv where they drew 1-1.

Bahrain head coach Helio Sousa fielded a starting 11 that included Ebrahim Lutfallah in goal; Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Abdulla Hazza, Sayed Redha Issa and Hazza Ali in defence; Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Ali Madan, Kumail Alaswad, Ali Haram and Jassim Khaleef in a five-man midfield; and with Abduljabbar as the lone striker.