After Bahrain took the lead in the 65th minute from the penalty spot, they paid by failing to clear the ball. Substitute Zachary Brault-Guillard sent in a low cross that bounced off the foot of striker Lucas Cavallini and a defender, deflecting off the Bahrain goal. It was eventually ruled an own goal instead of No. 18 for the lanky Vancouver Whitecap forward, who appeared to dance a bit to get his foot on the ball. But then he hit the defender next to him. Ismael Kone scored Canada’s opening goal. “A very good test and the kind of test we needed,” Canada coach John Herdman said. “We knew Bahrain would treat it like a big match and they brought real intensity. “It’s what we needed to shake off some of the rust and to be able to evaluate some players at this level. I think what we’ve learned is that there have been some good moments, but there’s still a bit of work to be done. We’ve got to bring the team to some cohesion and to bring it back to this match rhythm”. WATCHES | Canada’s forces are tied with Bahrain:
Canada ties with Bahrain ahead of World Cup
Canada’s men’s national team drew Bahrain 2-2 in a friendly with the FIFA World Cup on the horizon. Herdman will get reinforcements soon. He did not have his full squad for the Bahrain match, with almost all of his players in Europe still in action with their clubs. They will be released after the weekend of matches with those selected on the World Cup roster heading to Doha.
Canada will announce the roster on Sunday
Canada will announce its World Cup roster on Sunday with Herdman, who used 39 players in qualifying, making the final 26. Some decisions have already been made for him with goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau and defender Scott Kennedy unavailable due to injury. There was another setback Friday with defenseman Doneil Henry, who was captaining Canada for the second time, a late scratch after falling in the warm-up. “It was one of the hardest moments of my career today to see the big man in there suffering,” said Herdman, who was awaiting further evaluation of Henry’s injury. All blocks from Bahrain 🍁 pic.twitter.com/fu3ZojUDlM —@CanadaSoccerEN Bahrain showed a physical side early on with Mark-Anthony Kaye going down in a tough tackle. Ismael Kone opened the scoring in the sixth minute with his first goal for Canada in his fourth appearance. Kamal Miller, a long ball from Canada’s deep, found his CF Montreal teammate, who used a deft first touch to get past a defender and dive towards the goal unimpeded, beating Bahrain goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla with a high shot. A goal from Cavallini in the 12th minute, after a great pass from Jonathan Osorio, was ruled offside. Bahrain responded in the 14th minute against the run of play through Mahdi Haumaidan. After Kaye failed to latch on to a pass at the back, Youssouf beat Joel Waterman to find Hawmaidan in the penalty spot. His quick shot eluded Johnston and St Clair, who got his right hand to the ball but couldn’t keep it out. Yusuf’s deflected shot hit the post in the 16th minute after another Canadian turnover. And Yusuf, who plays his club football for Indonesia’s Persija Jakarta, forced a diving save from St. Clair with a powerful shot in the 32nd minute. The two teams each had two shots on target in the first half with the Canadians enjoying 62 percent possession. Kone should have had a second goal in the 50th minute but his header flashed wide of the empty net after a fine cross by Raheem Edwards, who beat his man to send it home. Richie Laryea found Osorio at the far post minutes later, but a shot was blocked by a Bahrain defender. St. Clair had no trouble clearing a well-placed free-kick from Marhoon in the 62nd minute, but looked unsteady in the ensuing corner. Canada will announce its World Cup roster on Sunday with coach John Herdman using 39 players in qualifying, settling on the final 26. Some decisions have already been made for him with goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau and defender Scott Kennedy unavailable due to injury. WATCHES | Injuries pile up in Canada ahead of World Cup:
Alphonso Davies Injury & Christine Sinclair join the show | Football North
Host Andi Petrillo gives you the latest injury updates on Alphonso Davies, later joined by special guest Christine Sinclair. Joel Waterman, making his Canadian debut, started in his place with Samuel Piette leading the team out. The Canadians will play one final match, against No. 24 Japan, in Dubai next Thursday before opening the World Cup against No. 2 Belgium on Nov. 23.
Adaptation to weather conditions
Canadians got a taste of the conditions that await them in Qatar. The temperature was 29 degrees Celsius at kick-off (6:30pm local time) at the Al Khalifa Stadium. Canada, ranked 41st in the world compared to No. 85 Bahrain, controlled most of the match and took an early lead, but paid for a first-half error that ended in a 1-1 draw. Bahrain proved a threat on the counter-attack. Bahrain took a 2-1 lead around 20 minutes into the second half through an Abdulla Yusuf penalty after Alistair Johnston tripped Mohamed Marhoon on the edge of the penalty area. Canadian goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair got a hand on the penalty but couldn’t stop it Bahrain showed a physical side early on with Mark-Anthony Kaye going down in a tough tackle. Kone opened the scoring in the sixth minute with his first goal for Canada in his fourth appearance. Kamal Miller, a long ball from Canada’s deep, found his CF Montreal teammate, who used a deft first touch to get past a defender and dive towards the goal unimpeded, beating Bahrain goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla with a high shot. A goal from Cavallini in the 12th minute, after a great pass from Jonathan Osorio, was ruled offside. Bahrain responded in the 14th minute against the run of play through Mahdi Haumaidan. After Kaye failed to latch on to a pass at the back, Youssef beat Waterman and found Hawmaidan in the penalty area. His quick shot eluded Johnston and St Clair, who got his right hand to the ball but couldn’t keep it out. WATCHES | Canada on the rise ahead of the World Cup:
Does Canada have something to prove in Japan’s Bahrain friendly?
Host Andi Petrillo is joined by former CanWNT player Kaylyn Kyle to break down Canada’s upcoming World Cup friendlies and discuss the recent string of injuries ahead of Qatar. For the Bahrain camp and match, Herdman relied on MLS talent along with midfielder Liam Fraser who plays in Belgium for KMSK Deinze. Eighteen of the 21 players in the camp were from Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver (including Toronto winger Jacob Schaffelburg on loan to Nashville SC). The TFC and Vancouver players in camp hadn’t seen action since the MLS regular season finale on Oct. 9. Montreal was eliminated from the playoffs on October 23 in a 3–1 loss to New York FC in the Eastern Conference semifinals. For some, the pause was even longer. Before Friday, Osorio had played just 18 minutes since Aug. 20 because of post-concussion syndrome. He earned his 56th cap for Canada on Friday and looked sharp, playing the entire game. “Amazing,” Osorio said. “It was tough … everybody helped me come back and get to this point. I’m really happy to be with the boys. They helped me out there on the field.”
Milestone for Herdman, Johnston
The Bahrain game was also a milestone for both Herdman and Johnston. Herdman notched his 46th international ‘A’ game leading the Canadian men, moving him into second place on the all-time list behind Steven Hart with a record (31-10-5). Bob Lenarduzzi holds the record at 62. Johnston played in his 27th consecutive game for Canada, tying the record held by former captain Bruce Wilson. The 24-year-old from Aurora, Ont., made his debut against Bermuda in March 2021 in Canada’s opening World Cup qualifier and has been a fixture ever since. Johnston, who won his 29th cap on Friday, has not missed an outing in Canada since a match in Aruba in June 2021. St. Clair, winning just his second cap, started in goal behind a back three of Waterman, Johnston and Miller and a midfield of Richie Laryea, Piette, Kaye and Raheem Edwards with Osorio and Kone playing behind Cavallini. The Canadian starting 11 totaled 293, led by Piette (65) and Osorio (56). Fraser, Brault-Guillard, Ayo Akinola, Jayden Nelson, Shaffelburg and Lukas MacNaughton, making his Canadian debut, came on in the second half. Miller, who appeared to favor one leg, came off in the 71st minute. For Akinola, it was Canada’s first appearance since injuring his knee against the USA in July 2021 at the Gold Cup. Soccer North airs every Friday on CBC Gem, CBCSports.ca and the CBC Sports YouTube channel. During the World Cup, the show will be broadcast live following all of Canada’s matches for as long as they remain in the tournament.
