MUSCAT, August 30
The Oman national football team is in intense preparation ahead of the tough opening encounter against Japan on Thursday for group B matches of the deciding round of 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers. After arrival in Japan on Saturday, the Sultanate’s team players began the training sessions under watchful eyes of Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic on Sunday at Yanmar Stadium in Nagai.
During the previous warm-up session, the technical staff focused on the players readiness in different technical and physical aspects for the crucial fixture. In the initial sessions, the head coach preferred to have some recovery trainings after long journey from Serbia to Muscat and then from Muscat to Tokyo.
The Red Warriors will meet Saudi Arabia in the following match and only six days is the total duration after Japan’s fixture. The team will leave Tokyo on Friday to gear up for Saudi Arabia match which is scheduled on September 7 at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The Sultanate’s football lovers are awaiting the decision of allowing the spectators to attend the match in the complex.
It is expected that OFA will may unveil soon the mechanism of audience’s registration to attend the forthcoming match of Oman against Saudi Arabia at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Tuesday (September 7).
The Red Warriors are all set for commencement the campaign of final stage for the joint qualifier of 2022 Fifa World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup. The Sultanate team had concluded recently the overseas camp in Serbia. The team had played four preparatory matches and all of them ended on victory notes.
Oman outclassed FK Kolubara 4-0 in the opening preparatory encounter while in the second fixture, the Sultanate team edged Qatar club 1-0. The third victory came as Mohsin al Ghassani and his teammates managed to record an easy 3-0 win against Spartak Subotica club. The concluding friendly fixture ended with a 2-0 victory over Serbia’s FK Vozdovac club. Amjad al Harthy (38) and Abdulaziz al Ghilani (81) netted the winning goals.
The last warm-up destination in Serbia, which lasted for a month, ended on a bright note. The technical and administration staff expressed their satisfaction on the outcomes of the overseas camp.
Oman squad for Japan match: Mohsin al Ghassani, Jameel al Yahmadi, Zaher al Aghbari, Amjad al Harthy, Abdulaziz al Ghilani, Mohammed al Musalami, Fayez al Rushaidi, Omar al Fazari, Abdulaziz al Maqbali, Salah al Yahyaei, Abdullah Fawaz, Ali al Busaidy, Juma al Habsi, Ibrahim al Mukhaini, Al Mundher al Alawi, Mohammed al Ghafri, Harib al Saadi, Arshadal Alawi, Fahmi Dorbeen, Khalid al Buraiki, Essam al Subhi, Khalid al Hajri, Mohsin Jawher, Yazeed al Maashani, Ahmed al Kaabi, Saud al Habsi and Ahmed al Khamisi.
