That's true. Actually one thing that has seemed to escape notice after that match is the conduct of the Bahraini players on the pitch. 27 fouls we were whistled for, 27 firken fouls, and I'm sure not even half of them were genuine. It's not just Bahrain either. Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, whichever oil-rich sheikhdom it is, the games are constantly bogged down by diving that puts the primadonnas of the European leagues to shame. They know we have a reputation for being physical and decide to exploit it to the fullest extent.
Apologies for the harsh words to follow but these nations are a blight on Asian Football and I hate seeing them advance to the later stages all the time. Without the money to entice these african and south american ring-ins they would not be so well-off, they have tiny populations (Bahrain doesn't even have one million!) and the games have absolutely no atmosphere, usually patronised by a bunch of rich folk. The sooner countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and especially India and China, can start producing the players that the popularity of football in their countries deserves then Asian football will be that much healthier.
and :lol: there!
