On this day in 2010, Togo played Bahrain in an international friendly in Riffa and lost 3-0. What is interesting about that? Well, the team that played Bahrain was a fake side masquerading as the official Togo national team.
Apparently, $60,000 was spent on flights, hotels and the match-day gimmicks for Togo to play the Bahrain national side. The game started as usual without any suspicions. Bahrain’s Austrian manager Josef Hickersberger took his place in the dug-out eagerly hoping for his first win managing the Gulf country. The players lined up, the national anthems were sung and the referee blew his whistle to signal the start of the game.