MUSCAT, May 16
Oman beach soccer team suffered a 5-3 defeat against Egypt late on Monday in the second match of the Arab Beach Soccer Championship 2023 which is underway at the Al Hamra Beach Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Despite the loss, coach Talib Hilal’s men still have chances to advance into the quarterfinals of the tournament as the top two teams from each group will progress besides two more teams who are the best third placed in the three groups.
Oman team had registered a strong start in the championship as they thrashed Palestine 7-1 in the opener on Saturday.
In the match against Egypt, Khalid al Araimi, Abdullah al Souti and Ahmed al Owaisi scored the goals for Oman whereas Abdulrahman al Shafi, Hassan Hussain, Mustafa Abdulmunim, Ahmed Sulaiman and Haitham Mahsoob were the scorers for Egypt.
With the conclusion of the second round matches, Egypt are topping Group B with six points while Oman are in second place with three points besides Palestine on third, who have the same credit. Kyrgyzstan are fourth with no point. Palestine defeated Kyrgyzstan 5–1 in the second round match while Egypt beat Kyrgyzstan 6-2 in their opening match.
Oman team will meet Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday in a crucial match at the Al Hamra Beach Stadium. The match will kick off at 18:30 (Oman time). In the same group, Egypt will meet Palestine in the following game which will start at 20:00 (Oman time).
Oman team, coached by long-serving national coach Talib Hilal, is fully aware that this tournament will act as thrilling stage for the team’s preparation for the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup UAE 2023 which will take place in UAE during November 16 to 26. Registering a positive result in the Arab Beach Soccer Championship 2023 will definitely add a crucial step towards encouraging and enhancing the squad to perform much better in the world class assignment.
In the other groups standing, Morocco are leading Group A with five points while hosts Saudi Arabia are in second position with three points. Lebanon hold the same points in third place while Mauritania are fourth with zero points.
In Group C, UAE head the group with six points while Libya are second with three points. Comoros are in third place with one point while Kuwait are in fourth place with no points.
The quarterfinals will take place on Thursday while the semifinals are set for Friday and the final is scheduled on Saturday.
The 12 teams taking part in the tournament have been distributed into three groups. Hosts Saudi Arabia led Group A alongside Mauritania, Morocco and Lebanon while Oman are grouped with Palestine, Kyrgyzstan and Egypt in Group B. The Group C features the UAE, Libya, Kuwait and Comoros.
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