Muscat, Oct 11
Oman will chase a win in their crucial match against Vietnam on Tuesday in the Asian qualifiers – Road to Qatar 2022. The match kicks off at 8 pm at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
Red Warriors will be looking to return to winning ways after two defeats in the previous rounds against Saudi Arabia and Australia.
Head coach Branko Ivankovic is aware that Tuesday’s match will decide the team’s chances for ensuring a spot in the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Doha. A win will keep alive the Sultanate’s team chances in the qualifiers as the team lost six points in the last two encounters.
On the other side, the opponents will also look for the first victory in the qualifiers.
The Croatian coach said that Oman team will meet Vietnam after 17 years since the last match between both teams. “ I had observed opponents Vietnam team and they had developed well during the last period. It is expected that the match will be tough and both teams will play under pressure. We have to be fully focused during the whole match,” he said during the pre-match press conference in Muscat on Monday.
Commenting about the previous fixture, the coach said: ”Unfortunately, we have lost the Australia game. Nobody likes losses and we cannot change anything occurred in the last matches. The main thing is to keep focus in the forthcoming matches,” he added.
THREE PLAYERS INJURED
The 67-year-old responded on a query regarding the injuries: ”There are injuries for Zaher al Aghbari, Mohsin al Ghassani and Al Mundher al alawi. All of them will not be available in the Vietnam fixture. Jameel al Yahmadi is a good player but I preferred to play with Zaher al Aghbari, Al Mundher al Alawi and Abudllah Fawaz in the previous game. There are many experienced players in the squad including Mohsin Jawher who had not played yet,” he ended.
The Croatian coach and the national team players plan to take advantage of the home game in presence of the spectators with a 50 per cent capacity of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Also, the coach may slightly change the starting line-up due to the injuries and will select strong players from the bench. Mohsin Jawher is one of the players who might get a chance in the Vietnam match.
Meanwhile, Park Hang-seo, head coach of Vietnam, said his team will seek the three points from the match. “The match will be definitely difficult for both the sides. The host team will face pressure from the spectators and fans. We are looking to make a come back to the winning ways,” he said.
Responding to the complaint that raised from Vietnam team on the training venue, Hang-seo said that there was no complaint about the training ground. “The issue was only on the poor lighting facility,” he concluded.
