France Defeat Bahrain 6-1 in Final Game at 2017 Toulon Tournament

Hosts France ended their 2017 Toulon Tournament on a high note after defeating Bahrain 6-1 at the Stade de Lattre-de-Tassigny in Aubagne on Monday as they cemented a third-place finish in Group B.

Arnaud Nordin gave Les Bleus the lead after just five minutes, only for Abdulaziz Khalid to hand Bahrain a leveller 15 minutes later. Jean-Philippe Mateta, Yanis Barka and Derick Osei Yaw scored in the second period while substitute Bilal Boutobba grabbed a brace to decide France as clear victors.

Ivory Coast confirmed their status as Group B winners earlier on Monday following a 2-2 draw against runners-up Wales, with both those teams ending their pool phase at the Toulon Tournament unbeaten.

Saint-Etienne youngster Nordin required just under five minutes to thrust France into an early lead, setting Les Bleus on course for their first victory of the tournament.

His cut inside from the left flank staggered the Bahrain defence enough to unleash a blistering shot inside the far post from the edge of the box, and commentator Dan O'Hagan lauded the 18-year-old's display in the first 45 minutes:

Bahrain had failed to score in their previous Group B outings against Ivory Coast and Wales, but the Asian representatives finally broke that duck through Khalid, who was placed inside the box at the right time to prod home.

Nicolas Janvier came close to putting France back ahead when he hit the post from a free-kick near the half-hour mark, and Bahrain showed enough fortitude to see out the remaining minutes of the half on equal terms.

Five minutes was all it took for France to net in the first half, and they settled for twice that length of time after the restart as Mateta showed a clean pair of heels to get the better of his marker and score at the near post.

In truth, Bahrain goalkeeper Mohsen Ahmed should have dealt better with the attempt as Mateta stormed into his area from the right side, but there was little Bahrain's No. 1 could have done to prevent the third.

Having scored one of his own already, Nordin drew the foul that allowed Boutobba to rifle high into the top left for his first, and he again played a hand in crossing in to lay the ball on a plate for Barka, who converted France's fourth.

The floodgates didn't shut there, though, and Sevilla starlet Boutobba, not content with one in his last appearance at the tournament, touched in a second following a fine run and cross from Remi Roldan.

Jeremy Livolant and Yaw both came off the bench in the second period, and the former set the latter up for a sixth of the day deep into added time, just to add further insult to injury for a punished Bahrain team. 

France may not be heading into the next phase of their home competition, but they bid farewell with a fine finishing performance.

Despite losing a third game in succession and leaking six, Bahrain can also take some positives from a tense first-half display in Aubagne, not to mention finally getting their names on the scoreboard at the third time of asking.