Oman blanked China 2-0 to conclude their Qatar World Cup 2022 qualifiers campaign on a winning note here on Tuesday night.
Though not making the World Cup finals in Qatar in November, the Red Warriors finished in the fourth spot in Group B behind Australia on 14 points.
Group toppers Japan and second-placed Saudi Arabia have qualified from the group.
Third-placed Australia will play the play-off against the third team of Group A, which seems to be the UAE.
China finished fifth with six points and Vietnam was last with four points.
At the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Arshad al Alawi put the home side ahead in the 12th minute. Abdullah Fawaz made the result beyond doubt with Oman’s second goal in the 74th minute.
The match started with Oman settling into a good position and creating chances.
The Red Warriors made the game alive after netting the first goal in the 12th minute.
After a good move, Arshad al Alawi made the cutback and sent the shot just wide of the China goalkeeper Junling Yan's far post to open the scoring with a spectacular strike.
FOUR SHOTS ON TARGET
Oman had made four shots on target while China could not test Oman goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Mukhaini in the entire match.
At the stroke of the first half, Oman’s goal was disallowed for offside when it was precisely placed to send the ball into the corner of the net.
Oman controlled the proceedings in the second half also as Amjad al Harthi’s header went wide in the 53rd minute.
China made some substitutions during the period as Zhang Xizhe came in for Xu Xin and Liu Binbin replaced Yuning Zhang.
In the 63rd minute, Zaher al Aghbari tried to break into the China penalty box but his shot hit the side-netting.
In the 74th minute, Abdullah Fawaz made a solo run inside the box and fired the shot past the China goalkeeper to extend the lead 2-0.
Oman tried to create more chances in the remaining minutes but the Chinese defence thwarted further damages.
China could not utilize seven corners that came their way in the match as Oman didn’t get any corner.
China had held Saudi Arabia for a 1-1 draw at home last Thursday, while Oman had edged Vietnam 1-0 in their last away match.
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