Red Warriors aim to capitalise on home advantage
Published: 05:03 PM,Mar 20,2024 | EDITED : 09:03 PM,Mar 20,2024
Red Warriors aim to capitalise on home advantage
MUSCAT: Oman will aim to take advantage of home conditions as they will host Group D leaders Malaysia on Thursday for the third round of the Preliminary Joint Qualification - Round 2 for the Fifa World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027. The match will begin at 10:00 pm at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher. In the same group, Chinese Taipei will take on Kyrgyzstan in another clash of the group as both teams will be looking for the three points to keep alive their qualification chances.
Oman players, under the supervision of the new coaching staff headed by Jaroslav Silhavy, are in good shape after completion of eight days domestic warm-up sessions. Coach Silhavy will be looking to make a strong start in his new career. Moreover, the national team will target nothing less than a win that will ensure reviving Oman’s chances in topping the group.
It is expected the Czech coach will depend on the key experienced players in Thursday's assignment as he recalled many former players including Mohammed al Musallami, Hatim al Rushdi and Abdulaziz al Maqbali who is out due to his recent knee injury. The expected players who will be available in the squad may include Mohsin al Ghassani, Esam al Subhi, Omar al Malki, Salah al Yahyaei, Harib al Saadi, Abdullah Fawaz and besides others who could positively add a value to the technical performance of the match.
On the other hand, opponents Malaysia, will eye another win after their perfect campaign with two victories against Kyrgyzstan and Chinese Taipei. Malaysia played a closed-door friendly match against Nepal which served as preparation game. Malaysia are currently topping the group by six points from two games while Oman are second with three points.
POSITIVE START
Oman’s Jaroslav Silhavy voiced confidently in the press conference that the team is ready to win the match. “ The national team completed the training sessions and I am pleased with the players’ performance and discipline in the camp. I am confident the team can register a positive result in today’s clash,” he said.
“Despite the time was very short to understand the players, we managed to see all the players performance during the league and also all the players in the squad attended the last eight days training sessions,” he added.
Responding to an inquiry relevant to the performance of the opponent, the head coach said:” We observed and analysed the Malaysian players. We are aware of their weakness and strength points. This will help us to plan a good tactics for the game,” he concluded.
Oman captain and experienced defender Mohammed al Musallami said the match against Malaysia will be very tight. “We understand the difficulty of the match but will aim to register three points from this game and as players we are ready for this game.”
“Despite the short period for the new head coach, as players we are ready to implement his instructions. Also, during the last couple days in the camp, we managed to get better idea on his technical approach and coaching style,” Al Musallami added.
“Mohammed is one of the experienced players in the squad and we are playing as one group in the team. Our target is to win the game and get the three points,” the coach added.
Malaysia head coach Kim Pan Gon said the team faced many difficulties including the league completed in Malaysia last December and the new season will begin in May and the team had only one preparatory match against Nepal. “Despite all the obstacles, we are expecting to provide very competitive and exciting game and our goal is to capture the winning points and travel to Malaysia with victory vibes.”
“Malaysia team delivered top show in the recent games and we can compete with top teams. This experience can help the team in today’s match against Oman. Our target is to make the Malaysian fans happy,” Kim said.
“Another difficulty for today’s game is Oman will play with a new coaching staff. We are not aware with the characteristics of the new coaching staff. However, we have some information on Oman players as individuals,” the coach said.
The Malaysian coach affirmed that he is very proud of Malaysia national team players. “We would like to maintain our lead in the group. It is going to be a crucial match specially Oman is better team in the world ranking,” he added.
Malaysian player Dion Cools, said that he is very confident for the game. “I am going to work very hard with my teammates to register a positive result in today’s tie. We have big dream and big target to finish this match with a perfect result and then to think for the home game in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
Oman players, under the supervision of the new coaching staff headed by Jaroslav Silhavy, are in good shape after completion of eight days domestic warm-up sessions. Coach Silhavy will be looking to make a strong start in his new career. Moreover, the national team will target nothing less than a win that will ensure reviving Oman’s chances in topping the group.
It is expected the Czech coach will depend on the key experienced players in Thursday's assignment as he recalled many former players including Mohammed al Musallami, Hatim al Rushdi and Abdulaziz al Maqbali who is out due to his recent knee injury. The expected players who will be available in the squad may include Mohsin al Ghassani, Esam al Subhi, Omar al Malki, Salah al Yahyaei, Harib al Saadi, Abdullah Fawaz and besides others who could positively add a value to the technical performance of the match.
On the other hand, opponents Malaysia, will eye another win after their perfect campaign with two victories against Kyrgyzstan and Chinese Taipei. Malaysia played a closed-door friendly match against Nepal which served as preparation game. Malaysia are currently topping the group by six points from two games while Oman are second with three points.
POSITIVE START
Oman’s Jaroslav Silhavy voiced confidently in the press conference that the team is ready to win the match. “ The national team completed the training sessions and I am pleased with the players’ performance and discipline in the camp. I am confident the team can register a positive result in today’s clash,” he said.
“Despite the time was very short to understand the players, we managed to see all the players performance during the league and also all the players in the squad attended the last eight days training sessions,” he added.
Responding to an inquiry relevant to the performance of the opponent, the head coach said:” We observed and analysed the Malaysian players. We are aware of their weakness and strength points. This will help us to plan a good tactics for the game,” he concluded.
Oman captain and experienced defender Mohammed al Musallami said the match against Malaysia will be very tight. “We understand the difficulty of the match but will aim to register three points from this game and as players we are ready for this game.”
“Despite the short period for the new head coach, as players we are ready to implement his instructions. Also, during the last couple days in the camp, we managed to get better idea on his technical approach and coaching style,” Al Musallami added.
“Mohammed is one of the experienced players in the squad and we are playing as one group in the team. Our target is to win the game and get the three points,” the coach added.
Malaysia head coach Kim Pan Gon said the team faced many difficulties including the league completed in Malaysia last December and the new season will begin in May and the team had only one preparatory match against Nepal. “Despite all the obstacles, we are expecting to provide very competitive and exciting game and our goal is to capture the winning points and travel to Malaysia with victory vibes.”
“Malaysia team delivered top show in the recent games and we can compete with top teams. This experience can help the team in today’s match against Oman. Our target is to make the Malaysian fans happy,” Kim said.
“Another difficulty for today’s game is Oman will play with a new coaching staff. We are not aware with the characteristics of the new coaching staff. However, we have some information on Oman players as individuals,” the coach said.
The Malaysian coach affirmed that he is very proud of Malaysia national team players. “We would like to maintain our lead in the group. It is going to be a crucial match specially Oman is better team in the world ranking,” he added.
Malaysian player Dion Cools, said that he is very confident for the game. “I am going to work very hard with my teammates to register a positive result in today’s tie. We have big dream and big target to finish this match with a perfect result and then to think for the home game in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.