Alawi revives Oman hopes in Asian Cup qualifiers

Oman’s Arshad al Alawi revived the chances of Oman Olympic (U-23) football team to secure a slot in the finals of the AFC Asian (U-23) Cup as he struck the winner in the dying minutes against Kyrgyzstan late on Wednesday. At Al Fujairah Stadium, Oman Olympic heroes snatched a 1-0 win in a tough clash to taste their first victory in the qualifiers group E matches after suffering a 2-1 loss to India in the opening game. The triumph delivered three points for the team. The Red Warriors will face hosts UAE on Sunday in the same venue in a tight summit clash.

The match was near to end at a goalless draw before Arshad al Alawi’s goal in the 92nd minute. Kyrgyzstan’s team continued the match with ten men from 90th minute after Maksat Dzhakybaliev received his second yellow card. Kyrgyz’s Nikolai Iuzahnin and his teammates were eyeing to earn the sixth points and get inch closer to the Asian finals as they won the first game against the hosts UAE 2-1. In another fixture, UAE managed to bounce back as they defeated India 1-0 by Abdullah al Hamadi who scored the only goal in the match.

The forthcoming qualifying matches of group E in round three will determine the teams which will get closer to secure the spot to the finals. After completion of the second-round games, all the teams in group E managed to earn three points from one victory. India is topping the group with match preference from UAE who is positioned in second place. The Kyrgyzstan team is in third place while Oman in fourth with equal points of three for all the teams.

Top Show

The national U-23 team head coach, Dario Basic, said the players managed to play well in both halves of the game. “ The match was not easy and we were the best side but the goal got delayed. The team players managed to create chances and missed many scoring attempts,” he added. The Croatian coach said the match against UAE is going to be a tough game.” There are many perfect players in the UAE squad. I am expecting it will be a tough game and will do our level best to register positive results in the game,” he said.

Group toppers along with four best second placed teams and hosts will advance to the finals of the AFC Asian (U-23) which will be held in Uzbekistan from September 6 to 25, 2022.