Our players were Fantastic, Unbelievable!

TDT | Manama           

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain head coach Helio Sousa was all praise for the senior men’s national football team following their superb 2-1 victory over Malaysia on Saturday in their second Group E match of AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifying.

The nationals needed to battle back from a goal down in the second half against an inspired home side—one that was boosted by a 64,000-strong crowd at Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Jalil National Stadium.

In addition to that, a heavy downpour hours before kick-off resulted in a water-logged pitch and playing conditions that the Bahrainis have not experienced in several years. Sousa described his team’s performance as “fantastic” and “unbelievable”, and the Bahrainis are now on the brink of securing their qualification for the Asian Cup.

“I must be so grateful to my players,” Sousa said during his postmatch Press conference. “They were fantastic. Unbelievable! “They have such heart, such fire, such a commitment with the country, with the team, and with the fans of Bahrain. What they are doing is unbelievable!” Sousa noted that a key to their victory was the Bahrainis’ physical and mental preparedness.

“We knew it would be a very hard match against a strong team and players with quality, with a fantastic environment and fans pushing for the home team,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to play in these kinds of conditions, with this kind of support even for an away team.

“We talked that we must also be emotionally stable to win in this kind of environment. The extra push the fans put for their team gave them more heart and more fire to them to keep pressing to find a good result.

“Our players showed a lot of intelligence. I’m so grateful for them, they were amazing today—not just today, but particularly today.” Sousa also credited his team for being able to quickly adjust to the rain-hit conditions at the venue.

“We had to adapt fast; the rain during the day changed all the conditions,” he explained. “Our team has not played like this before in maybe three or five years.

“We got a deserving victory, and that is very important for us.” Meanwhile, Player of the Match Ali Haram, who scored Bahrain’s first goal, commented during the conference: “It was a very good game, and as we expected, a very tough one.

The condition of the field was full of water, and because of that, both teams didn’t start very well. But slowly we got better and we were able to get the win.

“The most important thing is we got the three points.” Bahrain return to the pitch for their final qualifier tomorrow against Turkmenistan. The game is scheduled for a 12.15pm kickoff, Bahrain time. A win for the nationals will secure their place as Group E winners and punch their tickets to next year’s Asian Cup.