Oman aim for strong start against Italy

MUSCAT: The Oman beach soccer team will hope to register a strong start as they will meet Italy in a tight crunch on Friday in the opening match of Group D at the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup which is underway from Thursday and will run until May 11 in Seychelles. The match will kick off at 3 pm (Oman Time) at the Paradise Arena in Mahe Islands. In the same group, world champions Brazil will meet El Salvador at the same venue and the match will begin at 7 pm (Oman Time).

Oman team, coached by experienced head coach Talib Hilal, will chase their first knockout round berth in their sixth appearance at the global showpiece event. The national team players are in good shape after completion of last warm-up sessions in Seychelles as the team arrived to the largest island of Seychelles in Mahe last week.

The Oman team played two friendly matches recently as they won against hosts Seychelles by 4-3 while they suffered a 3-1 loss against Paraguay. Both matches were final rehearsals ahead of the World Cup.

Oman played two friendly matches with win against Seychelles and loss against Paraguay.

Finishing as runners-up in the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup Thailand 2025 in last March will serve as a confidence booster for Oman team players in their forthcoming games in the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup.

Coach Talib Hilal will rely on many experienced players who took part in the previous editions of Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup including: Khalid al Oraimi, Abdullah al Souti, Sami al Balushi, Mundher al Oraimi, Mashal al Oraimi, Nooh al Zadjali besides young faces like Salim al Oraimi.

The Oman team players will aim to register a positive start in the opening game against Italy as they will meet El Salvador, champions of 2025 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship, on Sunday before concluding the group matches against World Champions Brazil on Tuesday.

The opponents, Italy, had attended the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup for nine times in the history and their best finish was ending as runners-up in 2008, 2019 and 2024. Italy featured many top players but coach Hilal and his battalion are in best shape to compete and earn the desired result.

Coach Talib Hilal will rely on many experienced players who took part in the previous editions of Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup.

NEXT STEP

Oman’s Abdullah al Souti affirmed in an interview with Fifa website that Oman feels Seychelles like the perfect place to make history. “We are ready to take the next step in order to advance to the quarterfinals. We are an ambitious team. We are ready to face any team and we are confident in our abilities. Our group is a very strong group, and we will fight to advance.”

“It’s a great feeling and it has given me great confidence,” said Al Sauti.

Oman squad: Younis al Owaisi, Amjad al Hamadani, Said al Farsi, Abdullah al Souti, Musallam al Oraimi, Nooh al Zadjali, Ahmed al Owaisi, Salim al Oraimi, Mundher al Oraimi, Sami al Balushi, Al Yaqdhan al Hindasi, Yahya al Murkhi, Khalid al Oraimi and Mashal al Oraimi.