MUSCAT: Oman national football team will face Palestine on Wednesday in a friendly match as part of the underway domestic camp in Muscat. The match will kick off at 6:45 pm at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher. The warm-up match will be vital for the coaching staff to assess the fitness and physical conditions besides technical prowess of the players. Head coach Branko Ivankovic and his team will look to execute several tactics and strategies employed in the recent training sessions at today’s preparatory game.
The Palestine match will end the domestic camp which began on Friday and run for one week. The internal camp will be followed by a high-profile camp in the USA as the team delegation will travel on Friday morning. The external preparatory camp in USA will feature a tight friendly match against the USA team, ranked 11th in the world, in Minnesota, USA, on September 12. Both camps took place after completion of three rounds of the top-tier league. Moreover, the camps in Muscat and Minnesota will act as crucial for the team’s preparation for the preliminary Joint Qualification for the Fifa World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 besides the 2024 AFC Asian Cup which kicks off on January 12, 2024 in Qatar.
The 69-year-old coach is expected to give chances to most of the players to evaluate their performances in the upcoming friendly matches. The Croatian coach will work on finding the suitable alternatives for striker Salah al Yahyaei who is currently suffering an injury and cannot attend the Palestine match alongside Motaz Saleh who will be away for the same reason. Moreover, the matches against Palestine and USA are expected to raise the level of players ahead of the key assignments.
VITAL GAME
Ivankovic affirmed in the press meet ahead of Palestine match on Wednesday that this game is vital for the team in the technical preparatory plan for the main forthcoming events. “There are few friendly matches and this fixture is very important for the team. This is the initial gathering for the team after the CAFA nations Cup in Uzbekistan. I am fully satisfied on the team despite some injuries," he added.
Highlighting on the injury status of Salah al Yahyaei and Motaz Saleh, Branko said: ”Salah will continue his recovery programme with the medical team while Motaz will return to his team. Defender Juma al Habsi also is injured and still the medical team is awaiting the scanning reports to decide on the injury situation,” he clarified.
The coach stated that the new season has just started and the players have joined their respective teams. “These injuries can happen specially after late joining of some players. It is not easy to call for new players in a short time due to the long process required for the travel arrangement and obtaining the visa,” he concluded.
On the other hand, the head coach of Palestine team Mukram Dabdoob opined that Oman team is one of the consistent teams in Asia. “The friendly match against Oman will be a good chance for us to gear up for the upcoming events. I am looking to utilise it fully regarding the technical outcomes from this game,” he added.
The Red Warriors’ campaign in the joint qualifiers will begin in November. Oman, ranked 72nd in the world, will face Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei/Timor Leste in Group D of the joint qualifiers. The Red Warriors will launch their challenge at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 finals in January 2024 at Group F which comprised Asian favourites Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan.
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