BAHRAIN’S under-23 Olympic team suffered a 0-2 defeat to their counterparts from Iraq last night in a friendly match played at Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium in Arad.
After a scoreless first half, the nationals conceded both goals in the match’s final half-hour.
Hussain Jabbar opened Iraq’s account in the 64th minute, while Mohammed Qassim sealed the win just seven minutes from regular time.
The Bahrainis had their own chances to score but could not find the finishing touches.
The match was the first of two tune-up games against Iraq’s Olympic team within a span of four days. Both sides return to the pitch to face one another once again on Monday.
The Bahrainis, who are coached by Samir Ben Chammam, are using the friendlies as part of their preparations for the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Championship, which takes place in January in Thailand.
Bin Chammam has a 26-player squad for the friendlies. They include Mohammed Marhoon, Sayed Hashem Issa, Ahmed Al Sherooqi, Salem Adel, Anwar Ahmed, Ali Hassan Yahya, Mahmood Al Hayki, Yusuf Habib, Abdul Aziz Al Kandari, Ammar Mohammed, Abbas Al Asfoor, Hassan Madan, Hussein Al Khayyat, Jassim Khaleef, Abdul Aziz Khalid, Ibrahim Al Khattal, Hamad Shamsan, Saud Al Assam, Faisal Ghazi, Adnan Fawaz, Hussein Jameel, Abdul Rahman Al Ahmadi, Hamza Al Jabn, Hassan Al Karrani, Ahmed Saleh and Faisal Ibrahim.