Bahrain held the mighty Saudi Arabia to a 0-0 draw away from home in a crucial clash of the 18-team World Cup qualifiers. After the match, Bahrain's skipper Tarajiqi attended the press conference and gave an in-depth analysis and review of the match.
Tarajic began by congratulating the players, "I congratulate the players, who showed great fighting spirit and team spirit in today's match. It is very positive for us to get a point from them against a technically strong Saudi team."
Speaking about the exact course of the match, Tarajic said, "We were forced to play with 10 men for more than 20 minutes after Saeed Hashim's injury. It was a very tough period for our players but they showed resilience and great defensive skills and managed to keep the scoreline intact. We still have a long way to go to qualify for the World Cup, but I'm sure we can go far as long as we keep up this form and spirit."
On how to limit the Saudi offense, Tarajic revealed the team's tactical arrangement: "Saudi Arabia has a strong lineup of players and a world-class coach. In order to take a point from them, we made full preparations. All our attention was focused on limiting Dawasari, a key player, as he accounted for 50% of the Saudi team's strength. Happily, our players put in a great effort throughout the game and managed to achieve that."
Speaking about the encounter with Italian great Mancini, Tarajic said, "Mancini is my colleague and I can't comment on his performance or his team's failure to score goals. My focus is always on Bahrain and our upcoming matches. We need to focus on our performance and keep improving."
On Mancini's reference to the race for second place being between Australia and Saudi Arabia, Tarajic took a different view: "Mancini may have only seen some of the teams' performances. But just now we saw China's victory and Bahrain's draw, which shows that all teams are very competitive. In the qualifiers, the result of any match can change the whole situation. Therefore, we can't take any of our opponents lightly and must go all out to win every game."
