MUSCAT: Oman will aim to build on the victory against Palestine by chasing for the second straight win as they will host Iraq in a crunch match on Tuesday at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The match will kick off at 8:00 pm.
The Red Warriors, under guidance of Rasheed Jaber, has been fine-tuning their preparations with daily training sessions since their hard-fought 1-0 win against Palestine. Monday’s final training session will focus on refining tactics and ensuring the team is ready for this decisive encounter.
Reflecting on the task ahead, Oman aim to avenge their narrow 1-0 defeat to Iraq in Basra earlier in the qualifiers. With the team in good form and high morale following last week’s victory, Rasheed Jaber is expected to retain much of the starting line-up from the Palestine match. The technical staff will finalise the line-up and strategy in Monday’s practice session with a focus on both technical and tactical drills.
A win against Iraq would lift Oman to nine points, positioning them closer to the group leaders. Meanwhile, Iraq will also be highly motivated, having drawn their last match against Jordan.
Iraq’s delegation arrived in Muscat on Sunday with their first training session scheduled for Monday. Head coach Jesus Casas, who has been at the helm since November 2022, will be eager to get Iraq back on track and secure valuable points to strengthen their campaign for a direct spot in the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
The official pre-match press conference and technical meeting will take place on Monday. Both coaches will discuss their teams' final preparations while the technical meeting will cover logistical and administrative matters including kit colours, warm-up schedules and security protocols for match day.
With both teams targeting a win, fans can expect a keenly contested match as Oman strive to keep their World Cup hopes alive and Iraq look to regain momentum in their qualification journey.
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