Muscat, July 25
Oman defeated Somalia 2-0 in the second match of the 2022 Arab Cup U-20 Championship in Abha city, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday to revive their quarter finals hopes. With this win, Oman’s junior stars netted the first three winning points in the group.
Sultan al Marzooqi gave the Sultanate of Oman a lead in the 22nd minute while Ali al Balushi struck the second goal to make it 2-0 ahead of the whistle ending for the first half. Oman’s Abdulmajeed al Balushi named as man of the match due to his top performance during the fixture. After the match, Al Balushi said the team showed top game after the defeat in the opening match. “ Thanks to all my teammates for their top game. We have prepared perfectly for this tournament and we hope to continue ahead in the championship,” he added
Abdulmajeed thanked the organiser Saudi Arabian Football Federation and Union of Arab Football Associations for all the facilities for the participating teams.
The national team, coached by Spanish David Gordo, struggled in the opener as they suffered a 1-0 defeat from African heavyweights Egypt in a tough clash on Thursday. However, three points from the Somalia victory made Oman’s chances brighter ahead of third round matches for the group stage.
Egypt will meet Somalia on Wednesday to decide the topper. A win or draw for the Egypt team means topping the African nation for the group. The topper from each group will advance to the quarterfinal along with the next two top teams.
The national team head coach, David Grodo, began the second match against Somalia with a starting line up featuring from Mazin Saleh (goalkeeper), Said Ghaseb, Ayman al Nabhani, Salim al Abdali, Muntasir al Maawali (defenders), Ahed al Mashaiki, Nasser al Saqri, Sultan al Marzooqi, Abdulmajeed al Balushi, Khalid al Sulaimi (middle line)and Mulhim al Hadhrami (striker).
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