Isla Town, BHR – On Friday at Khalifa Sports City Stadium, both Bahrain and Canada played their first friendly of the final World Cup window just weeks ahead of the match against Belgium. It was not the best game for the Canadian men’s soccer team, but the mostly MLS roster got important playing time before the 2022 FIFA World Cup begins later this month.
The Canadian Men’s Soccer Team Reacts to a Poor Game in Bahrain
A Disappointing Game for the CanMNT
It didn’t get off to a good start as Doneil Henry who was brought in for leadership in the back line suffered an injury in warmup. The positive was that we got the first glimpse at Joel Waterman who was one of eight CF Montreal calls up for the game.
Ismaël Koné, another CF Montreal callup, looked to be the standout player of the game. He opened the scoring in the sixth minute with his first-ever goal for Canada at this point looks to be a lock for Qatar. The bad news though was a lapse in judgment on defence and a small clip by Alistair Johnston to award the hosts a penalty put them behind 2-1.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦
LUCAS CAVALLINI (kind of)!
Okay, so it *may* have come off the Bahrain defender, but the #VWFC striker will be claiming the equalizer all the same 😎
🔴 https://t.co/7JFAUhxUCE pic.twitter.com/Rg0oZbFnwn
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 11, 2022
It was Lucas Cavallini who played hero as in the dying minutes of the second half was able to deflect a shot that was called an own goal to salvage a draw. After the game, we got to hear from head coach Jon Herdman and his thoughts on his team’s performance.
“It was a very good test.” he said. “It was something we needed and we knew they were going to treat it like a big match and they brought a real intensity and we needed to shake off some of the rust and for me, to assess some players at this level and what we learned is that there were some good moments but there is still some work to be done.”
John Herdman on Ismaël Koné and What Jonathan Osorio Thought of the Game
GOAL 🇨🇦
A first #CanMNT goal for Ismael Kone?
You bet! The #CFMTL star bursts past the Bahrain backline and tucks home his finish as cool as you'd like 😎
🔴 https://t.co/7JFAUhxUCE pic.twitter.com/fW5AqjgjWG
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 11, 2022
Herdman also added his thoughts on Kone’s performance and says he was very pleased with the way he played and deserved all the credit.
“He can really make things happen and I love that and those players are hard to find so I am really happy with his performance and for me, he was one of the standouts.”
Jonathan Osorio who missed the last international window in September due to a concussion gave his thoughts on the match and his return.
“It was a tough game for sure Osorio said.” ” There were a lot of good things but they are a good team and they play really well together but our team showed great commitment despite everything that was going on in that game and we stuck together and there are some things to improve.”
When asked about his return to the pitch playing a full 90 minutes he said it was amazing, “It’s been tough and everybody helped me come back to this point and the boys helped me and I am super thankful to be back on the pitch.”
Game Summary as the Canadian Men’s Soccer Team Draw 2-2 in Bahrain
All of our players and staff are wearing poppies today on #RemembranceDay #WeCAN pic.twitter.com/SqtK63eZpi
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) November 11, 2022
Both Osorio and Koné were the standout performers in Canada’s win over Bahrain in Felipe Vallejo’s analysis article. That is at least one positive the CanMNT can take to their friendly against Japan and also to the stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The team will now travel to Doha, Qatar where Herdman is expected to announce his World Cup roster on Sunday morning before facing Japan next Thursday in Dubai in preparation for their first group stage match against Belgium on November 23rd.
Photo Credit: Canada Soccer EN’s Twitter Account on November 11, 2022.
