Muscat: The hosts Oman defeated Malaysia 2-0 in Group D of the Preliminary Joint Qualification - Round 2 for the Fifa World Cup 2026 and the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 to confirm topping the group after an impressive show late on Thursday. Striker Issam al Subhi put Oman ahead in the game as he netted the opening goal in the 58th minute while Mohsin al Ghassani sealed the victory for Oman in the 88th minute.
At the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex and in presence of huge crowd exceeding 21,000 fans, Red Warriors bounced back strongly as they are back to the track in their Asian joint qualifiers campaign with a crucial 2-0 victory over Malaysia after a 1-0 loss against Kyrgyzstan in the previous round. The win took Oman to lead the group by six points and with a better goal difference compared to Kyrgyzstan, who managed to register a 2-0 win over Chinese Taipei. Oman, Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia all have six points while Chinese Taipei are at the bottom of the group with no points.
Oman’s new head coach Jaroslav Silhavy began the match with a starting line-up that featured goalkeeper Ibrahim al Mukhaini while the defence featured experienced defender and captain of Oman Mohammed al Musallami, Ahmed al Khamisi, Abdulaziz al Shumosi and Ali al Busaidy. Harib al Saadi was in the centre besides Arshad al Alawi, Salah al Yahayei and Omar al Malki. The forwards were Issam al Subhi and Mohsin al Ghassani.
The Red Warriors began the match strongly as they were seeking a win that will ensure their chances in topping the group. Omar al Malki created some noise at the opponents defence while Malaysian goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan saved some attempts in the first 15 minutes of the game from some good crosses by Ali al Busaidy.
Red Warriors continued their pressing hard towards the Malaysian side to break the deadlock and score the opening goal. Oman’s striker Issam al Subhi missed a golden opportunity to put them ahead as his shot did not find the target in the 22nd minute and he was alone in the forward line. Malaysia's 22-year-old forward Arif Aiman was the most active player from the rivals side as he created concern for the Oman defence. In the first half, Malaysian goalie Syihan was the star as he saved a scoring attempt by Salah al Yahyaei in the 33rd minute as he sent a strong ground ball inside the box. The first half ended with a goalless draw.
OMAN HIT TARGET
With the restart of the match in the second half, the Oman strikers continued their attempts as they were finding the target to score the first goal. Oman’s Issam al Subhi finally managed to break the deadlock in the 58th minute as Ali al Busaidy sent a ball inside the penalty box while Al Malki passed to Issam who managed to put the ball inside the goal to give the lead to his team.
Malaysia head coach Kim Pangon did many substitutions in order to bring some fresh faces including Azam Azmi, Darren lok, Paulo Josue, Akhyar Rashid and Endrick Santos.
Malaysian defender Corbin Ong was very close to register a quick response and register the equaliser as his header touched the bar in the 61st minute.
Mohsin al Ghassani confirmed Oman’s victory as he received a ground ball from Ali al Busaidy and he managed to convert the ball to the net to score the second goal and made the result at 2-0 to confirm the winning points to Oman.
Silhavy praises players efforts
Post the match, coach Silhavy was very pleased with the performance of the players. "I want to thank all the players for the great performance during the match and the good result. The players showed determination to get the win since the beginning of the match,” he added.
"Despite the preparation time was very short but the team managed to to get the result thanks to the players' efforts. We have another match in a few days and we will be ready for it,” said Silhavy.
"We started the match with high pressure and we forced our style and managed to score the needed goals,” said Silhavy. “It is not easy to guarantee the victory in the next match but with the hard work we can reach to our targets,” the Czech coach added.
Oman defender Mohammed al Musallami expressed his happiness on the result. “Congratulations to all our fans. It was not an easy victory. As players we took the full responsibility of the match. The head coach was with us for short period and we implemented all his instructions. There is a big work awaiting us in the forthcoming matches. I am pleased to return as player in the national team after the OFA chairman and coach decision. I am always ready to represent the national team,” he concluded.
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