Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman's goalless draw against Thailand on Sunday disappointed many football fans in the country, drawing sharp reactions in social media with some demanding solid changes to the playing styles.
A leading sports critic said, "The Oman Football Association must look for urgent solutions because it is difficult for the team to score goals under current circumstances."
Oman ended their second match at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 with a goalless draw against Thailand on Sunday.
Victory eluded the Red Warriors after they finished their opening match with a 2-1 loss against Saudi Arabia. The draw gave Oman their first point in group F while Thailand raised their tally to four points after a 2-0 win over Kyrgyzstan in the opener.
"It is not enough to limit our ambitions to the Gulf Cup and qualifying for the Asian Cup finals. There should be some quick and urgent intervention before the remaining matches," a social media post said.
The match on Sunday started with clear pressure from Thailand as Omani midfielder Abdullah Fawaz saved a goal in the 16th minute. The goalkeeper Ibrahim al Mukhaini saved many direct shots from Thailand strikers, most notably in the 41st and 44th minutes. The first half ended goalless with Oman's 61 percent possession and one direct shot.
Thailand had 39 percent possession of the ball and three direct shots.
"We need innovative and professional methods to keep pace with the world," fans across the country expressed on Monday, who also felt that the country is too much dependent on one or two players.
Before the start of the match, experts expected Oman to recover from their defeat in the first round. "The team has a good attacking line, which includes experienced players such as Abdullah al Hammadi and Abdullah al Safari," they said.
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