Red Warriors gear up to battle S Korea in WC qualifiers
The Oman team delegation arrived in Seoul city on Friday and six days in advance for the encounter in order to ensure the team's adaptation to the climate and time change of five hours compared to Oman.
The team will conduct their third straight training session at the Goyang Stadium on Tuesday.
During the last two training sessions, coach Rasheed and his assisting team worked hard to finalise the starting line-up of the team including the suitable player who will cover the absence of experienced midfielder Harib al Saadi, who will not be available for Thursday's clash due to yellow cards. Oman's two professional players including Mohsin al Ghassani of Bangkok United SC and Issam al Subhi (Iraqi Air Force Team or Al Quwa Al Jawiya) joined the team's training sessions. Rasheed will study several proposals for covering the centre of the middle line after Harib's absence by adding Abdullah Fawaz and Arshad al Alawi.
Despite the difficulty of South Korea assignment, the runner-up of last edition of the Gulf Cup in Kuwait are in perfect shape to impress in Goyang City. Oman's striking line-up features top stars including Mohsin al Ghassani, who impressed in the Thailand league besides Issam al Subhi, who shined in the recent Gulf Cup. Seeb star Abdulrahman al Mushaifri delivered top show in the last few matches with his team at AFC Challenge Cup and with the national team too. Al Munthir al Alawi and Salah al Yahyaei are back to the national team squad with top records after an absence for a while and this will give a good motivation for the team to bounce back strongly in the qualifiers.
Coach Rasheed
The Red Warriors target is to secure positive results in the upcoming two matches against South Korea and Kuwait on Thursday and Tuesday respectively to boost their chances of securing direct or indirect slots for the World Cup qualification. The first two teams in each group of the Asian qualifiers will secure direct spots while third and fourth place will enter additional qualifying stages.
Oman are currently placed fourth in Group B, with six points from two wins and four defeats. South Korea are topping the group with 14 points while Iraq are second with 11 points. Jordan are in third place with nine points.
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