Mohammed Jassim Marhoon played the role of hero for Bahrain last night in a dramatic 2-2 stalemate against Indonesia in the third round of Asian qualifying for the Fifa World Cup 2026.
Marhoon slotted home in the ninth minute of second-half stoppage time to help the kingdom’s senior men’s national team salvage a share of the points in their third outing in Group C of this stage of qualification.
The influential midfielder equalised when it appeared Indonesia were headed towards a stunning away victory. He also put the hosts ahead in the 15th minute of the contest with a rocket free-kick from nearly 50 yards out.
But Ragnar Oratmangoen and Rafael Struick were both on target for the Indonesians on either side of the break. Oratmangoen equalised in first-half injury time and then Struick put the visitors in front in the 74th minute.
That set the stage for Marhoon’s heroics, as Bahrain registered their first draw in their pool to improve to four points, following their 1-0 win against Australia and 0-5 defeat to Japan.
Indonesia, meanwhile, posted their third successive tie, adding to their 1-1 result against Saudi Arabia and goalless affair with Australia. They went to three points.
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday next week, with the Bahrainis facing off with Gulf neighbours Saudi Arabia at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah. The Indonesians are away once again when they take on China that same day in the city of Qingdao.
Supreme Council for Youth and Sport first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa was in attendance at last night’s game. It was played in front of a large crowd supporting both teams at the National Stadium in Riffa.
Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic fielded a starting 11 that included goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfhallah, Amine Benaddi, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Waleed Al Hayyam, Vincent Emmanuel, Abbas Al Asfoor, Ali Haram, Komail Al Aswad, Ali Madan, Mahdi Abduljabbar, and Marhoon.
The home side applied the most pressure in the opening period. Marhoon opened Bahrain’s account with his wonder goal at the quarter-hour mark. His stunning long-range effort bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and went inches into the net before rebounding out.
Madan later came close to doubling their advantage with a left-footed shot from the inside edge of the box, but his attempt was well saved by Indonesia’s Maarten Vincent Paes. A Benaddi header on the ensuing corner was then narrowly wide of the right post.
Indonesia brought the game back on level terms in the third minute of first-half injury time, when Oratmangoen scored from close range following a cross from the right.
In the second half, Indonesia put up a stronger challenge. Struick powered them ahead with a fine effort from the inside edge of the area, after the Bahrain defence failed to stop Indonesia’s surge towards goal. Struick received a pass from teammate Thom Haye, and sent the ball into the top-right corner.
The Bahrainis continued to battle despite falling behind, and were rewarded for their resilience with Marhoon’s last-gasp leveller. He tapped the ball home right in the face of goal off an assist from substitute Sayed Hashem Issa following a corner kick.
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