Asian Games head coach Hwang Sun-hong’s side’s early top spot in the group will be determined by the outcome of the Thailand game as final opponents Bahrain failed to secure a win over Kuwait.
Kuwait and Bahrain battled to a 1-1 draw in their second Group E men’s football match at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in Jinhua, China at 5 p.m. on Tuesday (June 21). After a 0-0 first half, Bahrain took the lead in the second half in front of head coach Hwang Sun-hong, but Kuwait equalized with a fantastic free-kick goal to settle for a draw.
With both teams drawing, Hwang’s side will advance to the Round of 16 regardless of the final result if they finish with a win against Thailand.
Kuwait made seven changes from their last match against South Korea, including four goalkeepers in Mohsen Gharib, Fahid Alfadli, Taral Alquaisi, and Fahad Alrasmi. The unconventional move of dropping one midfielder resulted in a 5-1-4 formation. Abdulrahman Alfadli got the goalkeeping gloves, while Adulrahman Aldahani, Faisal Alsahati, Abdulaziz Maran, Othman Aldousari, and Mohsen Gharib made up the back five. Hafad Alfadli was the lone midfielder, while Hamad Altawil, Taral Alquaisi, Fahad Alharbi, and Fahad Alazmi lined up in a back four looking to score.
Bahrain did not rotate. They went with the same starting lineup that started the first game against Thailand. Yusuf Alissa was in goal in a 4-4-2 formation, with Ali Ahmed, Ahmed Alkalash, Mohammed Abdullah Mahoud, and Mohammed Sayed in defense. Ali Albana, Mohamed Bin Ahmed, Abbas Alawi, and Hussein Haruna formed the midfield. Up front, Hussein Abdulaziz and Abdullah Alsubaiyi were the two up front.
With an early qualification for the round of 16 on the line for Hwang, Kuwait started the game on the front foot. In the fourth minute of the first half, Kuwait opened the scoring with a mid-range shot from Aldousari. It was deflected and awarded a corner, which Bahrain cleared.
Bahrain immediately went on the counterattack. Haruna used her speed to break through the left half-space and cut into the center. The Kuwaiti defense collapsed in a split-second, but they managed to keep their concentration and clear it.
Perhaps due to the lack of rotation, Bahrain were heavy on the ball and struggled to keep up with Kuwait’s intense pressure. Even after Kuwait had the misfortune of suffering an injury to their defense early in the first half, Bahrain couldn’t break through them easily.
The game remained tense until midway through the first half. Kuwait kept their defense to a minimum and focused on getting most of their players up front to create goals.
In the 23rd minute, Kuwait’s best chance of the game came to naught when a deflected shot bounced off the Bahraini post. A Kuwaiti player was then tripped inside the Bahraini box, but no penalty was awarded. The Kuwaiti offense continued. Bahrain were not able to advance easily and were forced to defend.
Kuwait suffered another injury. Forward Al-Qawaisi went down holding his leg. The medical team attended to him, but he was replaced by Salman Mohammed. Despite losing two players in the first half, Kuwait continued to attack. Bahrain also looked to score on the counterattack, but struggled to find the back of the net.
Bahrain had their first real chance in a long time, as No. 9 Abdulaziz found space in the left half and struck a left-footed shot from just in front of the goal. However, the Kuwaiti goalkeeper made a good save.
With four minutes of added time, Bahrain had a chance right in front of the goal. After receiving a penetrating pass, Abdulaziz attempted a left-footed turning shot that just missed the target. The first half ended 0-0.
At the start of the second half, both teams made two substitutions. Kuwait brought on Sultan Alfarah and Vander Almutairi, while Bahrain brought on Mohammed Ali Hassan and Abdullah Almesaad.
Coach Hwang Sun-hong watched Bahrain from the stands from the second half of the game to understand their strength.
With Hwang watching, Bahrain gained a little more momentum. As Kuwait took control of the game, Bahrain created more chances. In the fifth minute of the second half, they got into the box through a fast-paced passing play.
It eventually paid off. In the seventh minute of the second half, substitute Hassan Amri rattled the Kuwaiti net with a right-footed volley from the right corner of the box. Bahrain rattled the net once more. Abdulaziz grabbed the ball out of the goalkeeper’s hands and slammed it home as the keeper made another save. However, the goal was disallowed for offside.
Kuwait struck back. In the 29th minute of the second half, Salman Mohammed took a free kick from the front of the box and scored with a fantastic right-footed kick. Kuwait’s equalizer ensured that Hwang Sun-Hong would advance to the Round of 16 as the group’s top seed regardless of the final result against Thailand.온라인카지노
Bahrain made a last-ditch effort with five minutes left in regulation time, using two more substitutions. However, they failed to capitalize on the extra goal. Instead, Kuwait came the closest to scoring from a corner kick. With five minutes of extra time, the game heated up and players from both teams collided, resulting in a brief stoppage and a Bahraini player being sent off.
With the extra time awarded, the match between Kuwait and Bahrain ended in a best-case scenario of a draw.
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