Jaber Al Ajmi takes a look at the five players who are behind Oman’s progress to the semifinals of the 23rd Arabian Gulf Cup in Kuwait.
With the wonderful performance that Oman national team showed in the group stage in the Gulf Cup, there are some players who have created a name for themselves in the debut, due to their contributions to the Oman’s qualification to the semifinal.
Fourteen players out of the 23-list are participating in the tournament for the first time. Oman Daily Observer reviews who is standing out in the group stage
1. Fahmi Dorbeen ( Al Nasr)
A mixture in style of the former star Omani defender Mohammed Rabea and Khalifa Ayle, Fahmi Dorbeen shined out and was one of the best starts so far in the tournament. The strong centre back defender brilliantly utilised the opportunity to impress when he played the Yemen friendly instead of Nadher who was in his Qatari Maether club duty.
Al Nasr club defender Fahmi shows a high quality of play in the defence that convinced Verbeek to start with him in all the three games in the group stage. With his great reading of the games, nice duels and clearances, Fahmi is expected to get a call to play outside Oman by the end of the Arabian Gulf Cup.
2. Fayez al Rushaidi ( Al Suwaiq)
The goalkeeper who was on the bench in both 20th and 21st editions of the Gulf Cup but did not play, while he was away because of the injury in the 22nd edition.
Superman Fayez did not give up and finally proved that he is a consistent performer until he became the main goalkeeper of the national team.
Once again he could have find himself on the bench if Al Hilal FC Club allowed the Omani ace Ali al Habsi to join the national team in this tournament. However, Dutchman Pim Verbeek said before the start of this tournaments that he has no problem with the goalkeeping as he has Fayez.
In the group stage, crucial saves from the reliable Fayez al Rushaidi helped the Red Warriers to maintain clean sheets in two must-win matches and he conceded only one goal from a penalty.
3. JamEEl al Yahmedy (Al Shabab)
No one was surprised by the great performance of Jamil al Yahmdi in this tournament.
The promising high-flying winger proved his capabilities with his Al Shabab Club and grabbed the best player of the season last year.
So he became Veerbek’s first choice in the right flank.
Jamil plays a very simple football but in a positive way and creates an array of attacking moves.
4. Harib al Saadi (Al Suwaiq)
Harib is the hidden soldier who could not appear in the full picture of the game.
But when you deeply analyse the technical aspects of the game you will see him as one of the most important elements to create balance in the midfield.
His short intelligent passes between the lines created the harmony that was missing especially in the midfield attack.
5. Khalid al Hajri (Al Suwaiq)
Recently, Khalid al Hajri has put Abdulaziz al Muqbali on the bench and became the main attacking choice for Verbeek.
The hard working striker has not scored yet but he helped to create plenty of chances for himself which showed his excellent movement in pitch.
His error conceded a penalty against the UAE, but made amends when he earned a penalty in the 1-0 win against Kuwait in the second game that was converted by captain Ahmed Kanu.
This tournament is a great door for all the players to pass to the international clubs so who will we see next as a shining star?
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