Muscat: The Oman national football team will take on China on Friday in a friendly at Baniyas Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE as part of the team’s underway abroad training camp for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 which will kick off on January 12 in Doha.
The preparatory game will start at 7:15 pm (Oman time) and will be closed for the public and media according to an understanding between the two teams.
Red Warriors will have another warm-up match against the UAE which is scheduled on January 6, 2024 at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi. This match will be open to all fans and the media representatives and it will be the final test for the Oman head coach Branko Ivankovic ahead of finalising the squad which will represent the team in the Asian Cup.
The long external camp in Abu Dhabi, which began in the middle of December, featured mixture of physical, technical and tactical training sessions.
Croatian coach Ivankovic is fully aware that this participation at the Asian Cup event will mean a lot for him as a national team head coach especially the national fans are not fully satisfied with the performance of the team especially since their last defeat against Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek in the preliminary joint qualification last month.
Addressing the weak sides, raising the level of harmony among the players and successful finishing of the scoring attempts near to the target were the main areas that got more focus by the coaching staff during couple days ago. Three key players are currently out of Branko’s account for China’s friendly game including defender Amjad al Harthy and Mahmood Mbrook who are suffering injuries while goalkeeper Fayez al Rushaidi is busy with his Bahraini Al Manama team and will join the national team later next week.
It is expected that coach Ivankovic will play the warm-up game against China with different technical ways and tactics besides giving chances for all the squad members to play in the match. It will be a great chance for him to evaluate the players' readiness of the major assignment in Doha which will be held from January 12 to February 10, 2024 in Doha city where 24 teams will vie for the title of the Asian event.
Red Warriors will aim for a successful run in the forthcoming edition of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 as they will take on Saudi Arabia in the opener of Group F. Then, they will face a confident Southeast Asian team Thailand on January 21 before concluding their group matches against Kyrgyzstan on January 25.
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