Muscat: Oman beach soccer team began its campaign at the Oman International beach soccer tournament with a 4-1 thumping of Egypt at the sand courts of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher on Thursday.
The international friendly event features participation of four teams including Italy, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and hosts Sultanate of Oman. The warm-up event is part of the team’s technical preparation towards the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup 2024 in the UAE from February 15 to 25. Debutants Egypt and Italy will vie for securing tickets to the next round as they will compete against World Cup hosts United Arab Emirates and USA in Group A. Another first-timer, Colombia will compete against Belarus, Japan and Senegal in Group C. Argentina, IR Iran, Spain and Tahiti will comprise Group B which is ranked as one of the tight groups.
Oman, coached by the long serving head coach Talib Hilal, will face record five-time champions Brazil, Portugal, winners of 2015 and 2019, and Mexico in Group D. Oman will try to sneak into the knockout phase for the first time in history after four previous attendances in the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup.
In Muscat, coach Talib Hilal’s men managed to earn a crucial 4-1 win over African nation Egypt in a tight game on Thursday. Musallam al Oraimi netted Oman’s opening goal while Abdullah al Souti, Mundher al Oraimi and Salim al Oraimi raised the target to four goals while the consolation goal of the rivals was struck by Helmi.
In another match, Italy defeated Saudi Arabia 5-3 in the opening match of both teams in the tournament. Oman will meet Saudi Arabia on Monday to conclude their matches in this tournament while Saudi Arabia take on Egypt on Saturday. This international preparatory event will shape Oman team players for the upcoming major event.
The national team players reported back to the training sessions by beginning of this year after an absence of four months from last presence at the second CIS Games in Belarus in August. As many as 16 players took part in the first warm-up camp namely: Khalid al Oraimi, Abdullah al Souti, Mashal al Oraimi, Salim al Oraimi, Younis al Owaisi, Nouh al Battashi, Said al Farsi, Abdul Rahman al Fazari, Moundher al Oraimi, Nouh al Zadjali, Amjad al Hamdani, Al Yaqdhan al Hindasi, Sami al Balushi, Yahya al Murkhi and Musallam al Oraimi. Majority of the players were selected from Al Amerat club who have been crowned as the champions for the second edition of the 2023-24 beach soccer league as they defeated rivals Al Shabab 10-6 in the concluding round of the league.
In the World Cup, Oman will commence their campaign with a tough encounter against the world champions Brazil on February 16. The match will start at 21:00 (Oman time). In the following match, Oman players will take on Mexico on February 16 at 15:30. In the concluding match of the group stage, Oman will face former champions Portugal on February 20 and the match will kick off at 17:00. The top two teams from each group will move to quarterfinals on February 22 while semifinals will take place on February 24. The third and fourth play-off and the final are scheduled for February 25.
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