Muscat: Oman played out a 1-1 draw against Kyrgyzstan in the concluding clash of Group D in the Preliminary Joint Qualification for the Fifa World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 on Tuesday at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The draw meant that Oman reached to 13 points and confirmed as group leaders while Kyrgyzstan raised their tally to 11 points and moved to the deciding stage of the joint qualifiers. In the other match of the group, Malaysia blanked Chinese Taipei 3-1 on Tuesday, but the win was not enough for Malaysia to progress into the next round.
The visitors commenced scoring in the match as Eldiyar Zarypbekov netted the first goal in the 19th minute from inside the box. Abdulaziz al Shmoosi equalised for the hosts in the 57th minute.
Oman dominated Kyrgyzstan in the early stages of the match as the attackers were seeking for a leading goal. Harib al Saadi made the first attempt for the hosts as he sent a strong ball from long distance but it went away from the target in the 11th minute. Kyrgyzstan’s response was in 19th minute as G Alykulov gave a pass to J Kojo who was inside the box but Oman’s defender cleared the ball for a corner. Eldiyar Zarypbekov's shot from inside box to the centre of the goal gave the lead for his team after a perfect cross by Murolimzhon Akhmedov from corner kick in the 19th minute.
After the opening goal from the opponents, Jaroslav Silhavy’s battalion tried to increase their control and pressed hard towards the attacking zone. Mohsin al Ghassani played a nice assist to the star of the previous match, Abdul Rahman al Mushefri, who shot the ball but was saved by goalkeeper E Tokotaev in the 25th minute. Five minutes later, the active man Mohsin al Ghassani gave another pass to Salah al Yahyaei who missed a golden opportunity to equalise after a one-one situation with the Kyrgyz goalie but his shot was saved again by Tokotaev. During first half, Oman players created some chances while the visitors had some opportunities as well in front of Ibrahim al Mukhaini’s net.
In the second half, the Red Warriors improved their focus in the Kyrgyz penalty box as they controlled the match and created more chances. In the 57th minute, Oman’s Abdulaziz al Shmoosi managed to score the equlaiser after he received a pass from Harib al Saadi and converted to the goal through a ground shot.
The goal powered Oman’s attackers to press hard in the penalty box of Kyrgyzstan for another goal. Mohsin al Ghassani got a golden chance after a cross from Zaher al Aghbari in the 64th minute but Al Ghassani's header missed the target.
On the other side, Kyrgyzstan’s A Shukurov sent a strong shot from outside the box but went over the bar in the 70th minute. Five minutes were added as additional time but the dying minutes of the match did not see any change in result as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
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