Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: A 23-member Oman squad, accompanied by Pim Verbeek’s coaching staff and the Oman Football Association (OFA) officials, left for Kuwait on Tuesday to take part in the Gulf Cup Football Championship.
The eagerly awaited 23rd edition of the regional championship is scheduled to take place in Kuwait from December 22, 2017 to January 5, 2018.
Ahead of their departure, Dutchman Pim Verbeek announced his final list of 23 players, including Raed Ibrahim who plies his trade in Malta with Valletta FC.
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The Sultanate squad, who won their maiden Gulf Cup title at home back in 2009, will miss the services of star goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi. The Omani legend, the first player from the country to play in the European leagues, currently plays Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.
Though Ali Al Habsi will not be part of the team, Raed Ibrahim is one of the three professionals playing abroad selected by Pim Verbeek for the Gulf Cup duty. The others are veteran midfielder Ahmed Mubarak ‘Kanu’, a Gulf Cup winner who now plays for Qatar’s Al Mesaimeer, and Nadir Awadh, who turns up for another Qatari side Al Shahaniya.
The rest of the squad comprises home-based players and they are Sami Al Hassani, Said Al Ruzaiqi, Basil Al Rawahi, Abdulaziz Al Muqbali, Fayeez Al Rusheidi, Yaseen Al Sheyadi, Mahmood Al Mushaifri, Khalid Al Hajri, Mohammed Al Musalmi, Ali Al Busaidi, Hareb Al Saadi, Sulaiman Al Bariqi, Mohsin Johar, Saad Suhail, Saud Al Farsi, Fahmy Said, Ahmed Al Rawahi, Jameel Al Yahmadi, Mohammed Faraj and Ali Al Jabri.
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Al Saadi meets players
Meanwhile, Minister of Sports Affairs Sheikh Saad bin Mohammed Al Mardhouf Al Saadi met the Omani players at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Monday in the presence of Oman Football Association chief Sheikh Salim bin Said Al Wahaibi.
During his visit, Sheikh Saad Al Saadi, while stressing the importance of Gulf Cup, urged the players to give their best and achieve good results in the championship.
In Kuwait, Oman will begin their quest for the second championship title against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a Group B match on December 22.
Oman will play their remaining group matches against hosts Kuwait on December 25 and against Saudi Arabia on December 28. The semifinals will take place on January 2 and the final is slated for January 5.
Oman squad:
Sami Al Hassani (Al Mudhaibi), Said Al Ruzaiqi (Dhofar), Basil Al Rawahi (Dhofar), Abdulaziz Al Muqbali (Suwaiq), Fayeez Al Rusheidi (Suwaiq), Yaseen Al Sheyadi (Suwaiq), Mahmood Al Mushaifri (Suwaiq), Khalid Al Hajri ((Suwaiq), Mohammed Al Musalmi (Suwaiq), Ali Al Busaidi (Suwaiq), Hareb Al Saadi (Suwaiq), Sulaiman Al Bariqi (Saham), Mohsin Johar (Saham), Saad Suhail (Fanja), Saud Al Farsi (Oman), Fahmy Said (Al Nasr), Ahmed Al Rawahi (Al Nasr), Jameel Al Yahmadi (Al Shabab), Mohammed Faraj (Al Nahda), Ali Al Jabri (Al Nahda), Nadir Awadh (Al Shahaniya, Qatar), Ahmed Mubarak ‘Kanu’ (Al Mesaimeer, Qatar), Raed Ibrahim (Valletta FC, Malta).
Gulf Cup fixtures
Group A: Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE; Group B: Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen
December 22: Kuwait vs Saudi Arabia 7.30 pm; Oman vs UAE 10.00 pm
December 23: Qatar vs Yemen 6.30 pm; Bahrain vs Iraq 9.00 pm
December 25: UAE vs Saudi Arabia 6.30 pm; Kuwait vs Oman 9.00 pm
December 26: Yemen vs Bahrain 6.30 pm; Iraq vs Qatar 9.00 pm
December 28: Kuwait vs UAE 7.30 pm; Saudi Arabia vs Oman 7.30 pm
December 29: Iraq vs Yemen 7.30 pm; Qatar vs Bahrain 7.30 pm
January 2: Semifinals
January 5: Final
(All Oman times)
