MUSCAT, MARCH 27
The Oman national team secured third place in the AFC Asian Cup beach soccer 2023 by defeating the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 4-2 at Jomtien Arena in Pattaya on Sunday.
This marks the second consecutive time that Oman have won third place in the tournament.
Also on Sunday, Iran thrashed Japan 6-0 in the final to emerge the Asian champions.
The win saw Iran draw level with Japan on three titles each, with both teams now casting their eyes on preparing for the Fifa Beach Soccer World UAE 2023 in November.
In the play-off for third place, the UAE team opened the scoring with Rashid Yaqoub in the first minute itself.
The the two teams exchanged attacks throughout the minutes of the first half, but without scoring again.
In the same scenario, the second half started with an Omani goal from a shot that came from the kick-off also, which was successfully executed by Khaled al Araimi in the 13th minute. Yahya al Muraiki added the second goal for Oman from a penalty kick that he hit to the left of the goalkeeper in the 21st minute.
Rashid Yaqoub returned and scored the equalising goal for the UAE with a direct kick in the 24th minute.
In the third half, the Red Warriors were the best and advanced again through Sami al Balushi with a close-range shot that hit the net in the 25th minute, and in a similar way, Sami hit the fourth goal in the 26th minute.
Oman defended their 4-2 lead till the end to take home the third place.
OMAN WIN FAIR PLAY AWARD
Oman also won the fair play award for their neat game throughout the tournament.
During the press conference after the match, Oman national team coach Hilal bin Talib expressed his happiness with the team's performance, stating that they had worked hard and diligently to achieve their first goal of qualifying for the World Cup.
"We tried to achieve the second goal, which is to win the championship title, but things got difficult against Iran."
Hilal emphasised that achieving third place was a significant accomplishment for the team. "I told the players that achieving third place is good, so they showed their abilities and energy and managed to achieve that."
"We have a great group, and they are a mixture of experience and youth, and I think the players have great future."
Talib, expressed confidence in the team's future and noted that the coming period would be important.
Oman will take part in the Arab Cup and the World Beach Games in Indonesia's Bali, which would serve as preparation for the World Cup.
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