Oman draws with Tajikistan at Cafa Nations Cup

MUSCAT, June 14

The Oman national football team ended their second match at the Central Asian Football Association (Cafa) Nations Cup 2023 with a 1-1 draw against Tajikistan on Wednesday.

The match took place at Pakhat Akor Stadium in Tashkent. In a late match in same group, Uzbekistan played against Turkmenistan.

The draw gave Oman their first point in group A while Tajikistan raised their tally to two points as they played out a 1-1 against Turkmenistan in the opener. Although the Red Warriors could not register their first triumph in the event after they finished their opening match with a 3-0 loss against the hosts Uzbekistan on Sunday. In a late match, Uzbekistan played against Turkmenistan.

Oman’s head coach, Branko Ivankovic began the match with a starting line-up featured from Ibrahim al Mukhaini as a goalie. The defending line comprised from Ahmed al Kaabi, Ahmed al Khamisi, Khalid al Buraiki and Jameel al Yahmadi. The experienced Harib al Saadi monitored the centre alongside Abdullah Fawaz, Zaher al Aghbari and Salah al Yahyaei. Both strikers Essam al Subhi and Mohsin al Ghassani were in the forward line.

Oman team were looking to register their first win and revive their chances to move into the next level. Oman took the lead in the 14th minute with Salah al Yahyaei converting a penalty into a goal. The opponent Tajikistan found the net in the 44th minute through B V Hanonov to end the first half at 1-1. In the beginning of second half, the referee showed red card for Tajikistan’s Tabree Islomov and decided a penalty for Oman. The penalty was saved by the goalie of Tajikistan Yatimov as Mohsin al Ghassani did not convert the ball into a goal. Later, Oman players pressed hard towards scoring the second goal. However, all the attempts could not find the goal as the match finished at 1-1 draw.

Oman will conclude their group match against Turkmenistan on Saturday while the hosts Uzbekistan will face Tajikistan. In the other group, Iran thrashed Afghanistan 6-1 in the opening match on Tuesday while Kyrgyzstan defeated Afghanistan 1-0 in the opener.

The Central Asian Football Association (Cafa) Nations Cup 2023 acts as a golden opportunity for Red Warriors to shape their readiness for the forthcoming crucial assignments in AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 finals and the qualifiers for Asian teams on road to the Fifa World Cup 2026 as well as the AFC Asian Cup 2027.