Issam inspires Oman to stunning win

MUSCAT, Sept 2

Oman’s Issam al Subhi netted all-important goal against heavyweights Japan on Thursday to deliver a historic triumph for the Sultanate.

At the Panasonic Suita Stadium, the Red Warriors commenced their World Cup qualification campaign strongly with the 1-0 win over Asian favourites Japan in the deciding round qualifiers of the 2022 Fifa World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

The only goal in the match was scored by Issam al Subhi in the 88th minute of the match. With the result, Oman team bagged the first winning points in the group and the team will meet Saudi Arabia on Tuesday at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in the second round of Group B matches.

The Croatian coach, Branko Ivankovic, began the crucial encounter against Asian Cup’s runner-ups with a starting line-up featuring Fayez al Rushaidi as goalkeeper. Juma al Habsi was in the defence besides to Ali al Busaidy, Ahmed al Khamisi and Amjad al Harthi.

The middle line was monitored by Harib al Saadi, Zaher al Aghbari, Abdullah Fawaz and Salah al Yahyai. Al Mundher al Alawi and Khalid al Hajri were the two attackers. Al Mundher al Alawi was substituted in the 50th minute by Arshad al Alawi while Zaher al Aghbari paved way for the goal scorer Issam al Subhi.

GOOD SHOW

The Red Warriors began the first half of the match carefully with securing their defence. Oman players showed top performance in both halves with some attempts from Al Mundher and Zaher’s movement in the forward line. The first attempt by Oman came through Al Mundher, who recovered from the injury recently, in the fifth minute. The first Japanese’s attempt was created by Gaku Shibasaki who tried to send a strong ball to Fayez. In the last 20 minutes of the first half, the opponents piled pressure on Oman defence to secure the opening goal but Fayez saved many scoring attempts from Japan’s strikers.

In the second half, Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu’s instructions were clear to his players to raise their presence in the forward line to seek the first goal.

Junya Ito’s came close after three minutes into the half as his strong header was saved by Oman goalkeeper Fayez. Five minutes later, Oman got a penalty decision against them as UAE referee Mohammed Abdullah Hassan ruled no penalty as the ball touched a Japan defender’s arm. The Gulf umpire reviewed the decision with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) but the decision remained the same.

When the match was ending towards a draw, Oman substitute Issam al Subhi brought the joy for the Sultanate as he managed to score the goal after a great pass from Salah al Yahyei in the 88th minute.

Five minutes were added as addition time, but the result remained same and the Red Warriors snatched the first three points and registered a strong start in the campaign.

Oman’s forthcoming fixture in the group will be a home game against GCC rivals Saudi Arabia on Tuesday at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The Oman squad will arrive in Muscat on Friday to gear up for the Saudi match.