Australia impress in crushing win over Oman

DUBAI: Defending champions Australia outclassed Oman 5-0 in an international friendly on Saturday, ahead of their AFC Asian Cup 2019 campaign. Australia were in superb form at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai.
The Socceroos had suffered several setbacks in their preparation for their UAE 2019 challenge with Daniel Arzani and Aaron Mooy missing out due to injuries, but their dominance over Oman began as early as the 10th minute with Andrew Nabbout opening the scoring.
Four minutes later, Chris Ikonomidis doubled Australia’s lead with his first international goal, before Awer Mabil made it 3-0 in the 24th minute.
Two minutes from the hour-mark, Milos Degenek also opened his international account, and Jackson Irvine completed a super win for Australia with his goal in the 89th minute. In the continental showpiece, Graham Arnold’s charge, will play Jordan in their Group B opener on January 6, before playing Palestine and Syria, while Oman will have a final friendly with Thailand on January 2.

BAHRAIN CRUISE

On Saturday, Bahrain’s buildup to the Asian Cup received another boost as they defeated DPR Korea 4-0 in an international friendly at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium.

Bahrain, who will play hosts UAE in the opening match on January 5, took the lead through Mohammed al Romaihi in the ninth minute.

Ahmad Jumaa doubled Bahrain’s advantage in the 35th minute.

Jamal Rashed added the third for Bahrain, who defeated Lebanon 1-0 in a friendly on December 26, in the 65th minute before Kameel al Aswad sealed an emphatic win for Miroslav Soukup’s side just a minute later.

The win was Bahrain’s third on the trot, having beaten Tajikistan 5-0 in a friendly on December 20 and they will head to UAE 2019 confident of making a mark.

After UAE, Bahrain will play Thailand on January 10 and India five days later in their bid to advance to the knockout stage in their fifth consecutive AFC Asian Cup appearance, with their best finish being fourth place in 2004.

DPR Korea, who will play in Group E, open their AFC Asian Cup 2019 campaign against three-time champions Saudi Arabia on January 8. They will then face Qatar on January 13 and Lebanon four days later.