MUSCAT: Oman beach soccer team will aim to sneak into the knockout phase for the first time in history after five attendances in the previous editions of Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup. The delegation of Oman beach soccer team will travel to Seychelles on Thursday to vie for the sixth time in the history at Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup Seychelles 2025 which will take place during May 1 to 11.
Oman’s experienced head coach Talib Hilal — who is in this post since 2008 — affirmed that the team is all set to show a different performance in the forthcoming edition of Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup in Seychelles. “This is our sixth attendance in the globe stage and we are ready this year to make a surprise and qualify to the knockout stage for the first time in history,” he said in exclusive remarks to Oman Observer.
“Competing against world champions Brazil and runners-up Portugal is quite tough. However, the national team have met these teams almost in four editions and we are fully aware on their technique and playing style. I am very confident of my players to deliver their outmost technical efforts in Seychelles specially after their top show at AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup 2025 concluded last month in Thailand and Oman team ended as runners-up,” Talib added.
In the last edition of Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup 2024 which was hosted in UAE, Oman were very close to advance to the knockout stage for the first time but they had received a defeat in the dying minutes against Portugal in their last match of group stage. Oman had began their campaign in the Beach Soccer World Cup in Dubai with a 5-3 defeat against the five-time champions Brazil despite the top show in the game. Then, Oman team bounced back strongly in the following match to register a 5-2 win over Mexico before they received a 3-2 loss against Portugal in the third and concluding game.
“Oman will play two friendly matches in their final warm-up camp in Seychelles as they will meet hosts Seychelles and Paraguay. These two matches will be critical in shaping our players' readiness for this essential assignment. Furthermore, the recently concluded event in Muscat represented by GCC Beach Games acted as a golden opportunity for the team to gear up for the global showpiece event. I believe we are in best form to compete for a slot in the knockout stage and will think further later on in the tournament,” he concluded.
Oman beach soccer team concluded recently a successful campaign at GCC Beach Games as they won all their matches and clinched the gold medal. Oman players excelled with an outstanding show in all ties as they started with a 5-1 thrashing of Bahrain. Then, they beat Kuwait 3-1 before securing a thrilling 1-0 win over the UAE in the third game. Later, Oman thumped Saudi Arabia 7-2 to seal the championship and gold medal.
Oman squad: Amjad al Hamdani, Younis al Owaisi, Said al Farsi, Abdullah al Souti, Nooh al Zadjali, Ahmed al Owaisi, Salim al Oraimi, Mundher al Oraimi, Sami al Balushi, Musallam al Oraimi, Al Yadhan al Hindasi, Yahya al Murkhi, Khalid al Oraimi and Mashal al Oraimi.
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