Al Siyabi gets Oman call-up

Oman national football team manager Pim Verbeek has called up Ali al Habsi, AbdulAziz al Muqbali and Raed Ibrahim for next month’s 2019 AFC Asian qualifiers against Maldives. The 26-man selection also included a return of Al Shabab striker Mohammed al Siyabi due to his good performance in the Omantel League. The Red Warriors will have a camp after the fifth round of Omantel League that will be played next Friday, and they will play a friendly game against Jordan before they travel to face Maldives in the fourth round of the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers Group D. Oman play in Group D along with Palestine, Maldives and Bhutan. Oman are second with six points, while Palestine are leading the group with 9 points. The win against Maldives who have only three points, will eventually put Oman in the Asian Cup finals and they will just need to battle Palestine to lead the group. Two teams will qualify to the finals from each group. The Dutchman also called Al Nasr defender Fahmi Said replacing Dhofar’s strong defender Abdulsalam Amer. Al Nasr goalkeeper Ahmed al Rawahi replaced Dhofar’s Riyadh Subait as a third goalkeeper option. On the other hand, the former coach of Australia, ignored Saham’s veteran striker Mohammed al Ghasani and Al Nahda’s Mohammed Khasib, who both lead Omantel League top scorers table with five goals each from four games. The final list included eight players from Al Suwaiq, led by strikers AbdulAziz al Muqbali and Khalid al Hajri. OMAN PROBABLES Goalkeepers: Ali al Habsi ( Al Hilal FC), Fayez al Rushidi (Al Suwaiq), Ahmed al Rawahi (Al Nasr) Defenders: Manea Subait (Dhofar), Basil al Rawahi (Dhofar), Mohammed al Musalami ( Al Suwaiq), Saad Suhail (Fanja), Fahmi Said (Al Nasr), Mohammed Faraj ( Al Nahda), Nader Awadh (Qatar’s Al Shihaniah), Mahmood Al Mashifri (Al Suwaiq). Midfielders: Ahmed Mubarak ‘Kanu’ (Qatar’s Musaimeer), Ali al Jabri ( Al Nahda), Yaseen al Shiyadi (Al Suwaiq), Abdullah Fawaz ( Dhofar), Hatem al Hamhami (Oman Club), Mohammed al Mashari (Oman Club), Raed Ibrahim (Malta’s Valetta), Jamil al Yahmedi (Al Shabab), Ali al Busaidy (Al Suwaiq), Mohsen Jawhar (Saham) Forwards: Mohsen al Ghasani (Al Suwaiq), AbdulAziz al Muqbali (Al Suwaiq), Khalid al Hajri (Al Suwaiq), Mohammed al Siyabi (Al Shabab), Sami al Hasani (Al Mudhaibi) Jaber al Ajmi