Football fans in Bahrain are thrilled at the chance of watching some of the world’s best young footballers in action at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town on Friday when the kingdom’s team will take on Canada in a friendly game.
Canada, who have qualified for the Fifa World Cup Finals for only the second time in their history, were due to arrive in Bahrain late last night for a training camp that, along with the friendly match, will enable them to acclimatise to conditions similar to those they will experience in Qatar in a fortnight’s time.
“Bahrain have graciously agreed to host us, which provides the team with an opportunity to both acclimate to Middle Eastern conditions and to gain important minutes at an international intensity for a number of players prior to the Workd Cup’s final roster selection,” Canadian head coach John Herdman said.
Canada, who have been slotted in Group F along with Belgium, Croatia and Morocco, fared poorly in their only previous World Cup Finals appearance in Mexico in 1986, losing all three of their group games.
But their supporters’ expectations are high this time, with a number of Canada’s young players rated highly after producing outstanding performances for the national side, as well as leading clubs around the world.
And, they have a strong fan following in Bahrain as well.
“I can’t wait to see their midfielder, Stephen Eustaqio show his magic in Bahrain,” Salman Ali, a 27-year-old advertising executive told the GDN.
Eustaqio, born in Canada to Portuguese parents currently plays for Porto FC in his native Portugal. But it is as a Canada player that he has made his name with Herdman calling him a ‘complete midfield general’ and ‘a key player for us’.
21-year-old attacking midfielder, Alphonso Davies, who is already the most decorated Canadian footballer of all time and is described as a ‘phenomenon’ by former greats after smashing records at Bayern Munich and for his national team, is another player whose arrival is eagerly awaited.
“Oh, they’re right! He’s amazing!” Ahmed Hasan, a 20-year-old engineering student, told the GDN. “A friend of mine told me about him a couple of years ago and he’s absolutely electrifying on the field. It’s going to be a dream come true to see him play live on Friday.”
Meanwhile, Mohammed Husain, a 25-year-old pharmacist, is looking forward to seeing three of his personal favourites strut their stuff.
“I’ve been watching Tajon Buchanan, Jonathan David and Cyle Larin on TV for the past few years,” he told the GDN. “I’m so thankful to the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) for providing fans with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see our favourite players up close!”
Buchanan, the 23-year-old right-winger, and 27-year-old forward, Larin, both play for Club Brugge in Belgium when not on national duty and Jonathan David, the 22-year-old forward known as ‘The Iceman’ has scored 21 goals in 32 Canada caps. He was described as being ‘magnificent’ when French club, Lille registered what is called one of the most stunning league-title triumphs in modern history in 2020-21.
Bahrain’s coach, Helio Sousa, meanwhile, has ramped up his team’s preparation for what will be their third friendly game against a visiting international team in the last month-and-a-half.
The kingdom’s men played Panama, losing 2-0, and Cape Verde, losing 2-1, in September and will be hoping for a better result on Friday.
A 24-man squad has been training hard for the Canada game, which will be followed a week later, by another friendly against Serbia, who have also qualified for the Finals and are placed in Group G, along with Brazil, Cameroon and Switzerland.
Bahrain will be looking to Abdulla Yusuf Helal, their star forward who has travelled from Indonesia where he plays for Persija Jakarta, and Ali Madan, the winger who has returned from the UAE where he features for Al Ajman, to lead the battle against the Canadians.
All eyes will also be on Ali Alenzi, who has become the first-ever player to be called up from Um Al Hassam while veterans Mahdi Humaidan, Komail Al Aswad, Ali Haram, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Sayed Hashem Isa and Rashed Alhooti are expected to form the core group for the game.
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