Bahrain bow to Japan in Neom Beach Soccer Cup

TDT | Manama                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Bahrain’s national beach soccer team suffered their second straight defeat at the Neom Beach Soccer Cup 2022 in Saudi Arabia yesterday following a 2-6 loss to Asian powerhouses Japan.

The Bahrainis were previously beaten 1-8 by Brazil on the tournament’s first day on Wednesday, and they couldn’t bounce back in their follow-up affair.

The nationals conceded the match’s first two goals before replying with one before the end of the first period. Rashed Jamal then equalised for Bahrain early in the second, but the Japanese replied with another two to take a 4-2 advantage into the third and final period.

There, they closed out the contest by finding the net two more times. The Bahrainis return to the playing field today for their last game of the group stage against Oman. It is scheduled for a 2.30pm start, Bahrain time.

The other teams in the competition are England, Paraguay, the UAE, and hosts Saudi. Following a single round-robin in the two preliminary round groups, the match-ups for the competition’s final day on Saturday will be determined.

Four games will be played to complete the final rankings from first through eighth place overall. The Neom Beach Games 2022 are bringing together leading world-class sport events with high-performance athletes from over 25 countries, as the region aims to become a hub for sport.