The Oman national football team will face Yemen at 16:15 on Friday in a friendly at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex before they travel to Kuwait to participate in the 23rd edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup, which will start from December 22 until January 5, 2018. This game will be the final test for the national team manager Pim Verbeek, to select his final 23 players to compete for the Gulf Cup title.
The current internal camp includes 26 players, so three players will be dropped from the final list. The Dutchman Pim Verbeek is in a doubt as the Red Warriors did not show good performance under his period, so the Gulf tournament will be a serious test for him as the draw put us in a very tough group which includes the hosts Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
The national team will travel to Kuwait on December 19.
Verbeek’s Oman had played lowly Bhutan in their last official match in Thimpu and escaped with a 4-2 result in final round of Group D Asian Cup 2019 qualifying. The Sultanate team had qualified to the Asian Cup finals with the hard-earned win.
Oman will have to punch above their weight to challenge their regional rivals in the Gulf Cup and Yemen match will be a dress rehearsal for that campaign.
The 26-player Oman squad:
Sami al Hassani (Al Mudhaibi), Mana Subait al Mukhaini (Dhofar), Said al Ruzaiqi (Dhofar), Basil al Rawahi (Dhofar), Ali Salim (Dhofar), Abdulaziz al Muqbali (Suwaiq), Fayeez al Rusheidi (Suwaiq), Yaseen al Sheyadi (Suwaiq), Mahmood al Mushaifri (Suwaiq), Khalid al Hajri ((Suwaiq), Mohammed al Musalmi (Suwaiq), Ali al Busaidi (Suwaiq), Hareb al Saadi (Suwaiq), Sulaiman al Bariqi (Saham), Mohsin Johar (Saham), Saad Suhail (Fanja), Saud al Farsi (Oman), Fahmy Said (Al Nasr), Ahmed al Rawahi (Al Nasr), Abdullah Noah (Al Nasr), Jameel al Yahmadi (Al Shabab), Mohammed al Siyabi (Al Shabab), Mohammed Faraj (Al Nahda), Ali al Jabri (Al Nahda), Nadir Awadh (Al Shahaniya, Qatar) Ahmed Mubarak ‘Kanu’ (Al Mesaimeer, Qatar)
Jaber al Ajmi
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
