Oman look for a third straight win when they face Qatar in the penultimate round of Group C in the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers. The win will get Oman boys closer to 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup finals.
The match will take place at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex and will start at 20:45. In another match, Bahrain will face Iraq in the same venue at 17:00.
Oman impressed in the previous round as they registered their second consecutive win after beating Bahrain 2-0 on Wednesday night at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Oman are leading Group C with six points. Oman opened their campaign with a tough 2-1 victory over Lebanon on Monday.
In another match, Iraq and Lebanon played to a 0-0 draw.
Against Bahrain, Tamim al Buraiki was the star of the match as he netted the winning goals. The first goal was from the penalty spot as Tamim made no mistake.
The first half of the game could have ended with more goals if the scoring attempts were converted into goals. Several opportunities were missed by Yassar al Balushi, Al Haitham al Shukaili and Yousef al Shabibi while Bahrain team had few attempts to test Oman’s goalie Momin al Souli.
In the deciding half, coach Anwar al Habsi’s boys entered the match with more focus to ensure completing the fixture on winning note.
The Oman defence was strong enough to break all Bahraini players efforts to register the equaliser including Abdullah al Khaldi’s attempt that went closely over the bar.
Man of the match Al Buraiki increased Oman’s lead as he scored his second goal in the 77th minute to deliver crucial three points for the hosts. With the defeat, Bahrain remain with four points from a win against Lebanon 1-0 and a 1-1 draw with Qatar.
Oman head coach Anwar al Habsi hailed the splendid performance of Oman players.
“Congratulations to all of our fans and thanks for their attendance and support. I am pleased with this results and proud more with the technical performance of the boys. We entered to the competitions zone after we managed to eliminate one of nominees in the group,” he added.
Al Habsi affirmed that the team have two more games and we can register positive results. “The physical side and fitness are the key factors at the end and this victory will encourage us to do better in the forthcoming games,” he concluded.
