Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic praised his players for not giving up last night after falling behind late in the second half of their 2-2 stalemate against Indonesia in Fifa World Cup 2026 qualifying.
“My boys really did their best – they fought till the last second,” said the Croatian tactician during his post-match Press conference.
“Indonesia played a good game against us but I am very happy for our team because we showed that we are mentally strong. Not too many times will you see matches where you score in the last second.”
Talajic was pleased with the number of scoring opportunities the nationals created in the game – 24 shots with five on target – and said they will continue to work on better finishing.
“Today we showed some nice football and we created a lot of chances; now we must try to score more goals,” Talajic said.
“We have to solve this issue, but we showed today many positive things and I am very proud of my players.”
Talajic had special words for last night’s Man of the Match, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, who scored both of Bahrain’s goals. “He played an excellent game,” Talajic said. “He was unbelievable. What he did for us today, he was our hero.”
Talajic acknowledged that the Bahrainis have not made their qualification bid any easier by now losing five points in two Group C home games, following yesterday’s draw and their heavy defeat to Japan last month. He added, however, that last night’s point still matters.
“Every single point will be important,” he said. “We have lost five points, but I can only say that we will grow every single game, and we will try to be much better.”
Marhoon was alongside Talajic during the Press conference. He commented, through an interpreter: “We apologise to the fans who are maybe disappointed and wanted to see us get a win. We were the better side for most of the match but Indonesia have a lot of quality.
“We will now forget this game and focus on our next one. We still have a chance to qualify for the World Cup.”
Of Bahrain’s next fixture in continental qualification, which will be away against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday next week, Talajic said with a smile: “We will make a surprise for Saudi. They are our brothers, so we will surprise them.”
In other divisional games yesterday, Australia notched their first win after beating China 3-1 at home, while Japan outclassed Saudi 2-0 away in Jeddah.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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