MUSCAT, June 21
The Oman National football team coach, Branko Ivankovic, expressed his satisfactory on the team’s performance at the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup 2023, when clinched the bronze medals after beating Kyrgyzstan 1-0, and honoring Omani goalkeeper as the best in the tournament on Tuesday.
Ivankovic said, “Congratulations to the players for their performance and the registered result in the tournament. My players worked hard in all the games and I am happy with their performance. I am fully satisfied on the team’s show in the third and fourth playoff and also in the previous matches. It was a difficult game against Kyrgyzstan and the climate impacted negatively on the players performance,” he expressed in the press meet after the Kyrgyzstan match. Iran crowned champions of the CAFA Nations Cup 2023 after defeated the hosts Uzbekistan 1-0 in the final clash on Tuesday. Oman ended the tournament in the third place after edging Kyrgyzstan 1-0 on Tuesday at Pakhtakor Central Stadium in the third and fourth playoff.
Oman’s Ibrahim al Mukhaini was named as best goalkeeper in the tournament. Al Nahda’s goalie was also took the same award in the last edition of the gulf Cup in Iraq, Basra city.
The Croatian man pointed out that the team played four crucial games within nine days. “ It is not easy to play four matches within a short period of time. The team was progressing from one match to another. It was great to participate in this preparatory event as the footballing season in Oman ended recently. The team achieved good result in the tournament by ending in third place,” he said
The 69 years old told the reporters post the Kyrgyzstan match that the team missed attendance of five crucial players including: Khalid al Hajri, Mohammed al Musallami, Al Mundher al Alawi, Fahmi Dorbeen, Amjad al Harthy, and Zahir al Aghbari in the last match. “ There were many technical output behind team’s participation in this event. As a coaching staff, we managed to stand on the player’s technical levels and evaluate their weakness and strength areas,”
At the end of the press meet, Oman head coach thanked the organising committee and he said it was a successful tournament.
Oman team commenced their campaign in the event by a 3-0 defeat against the hosts Uzbekistan in the opener. Then, Red Warriors was held to a 1-1 draw with Tajikistan before registering their first victory in the event against Turkmenistan 2-0. Oman finished the group stage as runners up with four points. Then, Oman beat Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in the third and fourth playoff.
The CAFA Nations Cup 2023 acted as a golden opportunity for Red Warriors to shape their readiness for the future assignment including 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.
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