Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
Muscat: Despite losing the two matches they played so far, Oman are still harbouring hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of AFC U-23 Championship with a victory over Uzbekistan in their Group A match in China on Monday.
The match, to be played at the Jiangyin Sports Centre in city of Jiangyin, is scheduled to kick off at 12.00 noon Oman time.
The Sultanate squad’s chances of advancing to the quarterfinals depend not just on their own match against Uzbekistan but also on the outcome of the other Group A match between Qatar and China.
While Oman need to beat the Uzbeks by a good margin, they also hope Qatar emerge comfortable winners against China.
As of now Qatar lead the group with six points. Uzbekistan and China have three points but the former occupy the second place thanks to their better goal average of two against the latter’s zero. Oman, who are yet to open their points account, have so far conceded four goals.
According to news posted on the AFC website, Oman’s coach Hamad Al Azzani is looking for Oman to shine brightly in what could potentially be their final game at the tournament.
“I was disappointed with the last result (1-0 loss to Qatar), and for sure we will try our very best to qualify.”
“It would be a great pity to go out of the competition without having won any points,” he added.
His Uzbekistan counterpart Ravshan Khaydarov is, meanwhile, grateful to at least be in with a chance of progressing to the last eight.
“The next game against Oman is very important for us,” he explained. “The win against China was very important because of the situation we found ourselves in following the game against Qatar.
“I think that every team in this group will now face a battle to qualify, as all four teams still have a real chance to reach the quarterfinals.”
Meanwhile, coach Felix Sanchez believes Qatar can strike a significant psychological blow by finishing top of an intriguing Group A.
Qatar, who were fourth at the tournament’s 2016 edition, have put themselves on the verge of securing a spot in the quarterfinals thanks to solid 1-0 wins over Uzbekistan and Oman, results that see them currently occupying first place ahead of the group’s final round of matches.
With Monday’s crunch clash against hosts China looming large on the horizon, Sanchez feels his side could gain a significant boost if things go their way at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre.
“To qualify for the next round would be a good achievement, but I think finishing first gives you confidence because you will have finished top of a very tough group,” said the Spaniard.
“I believe that in a long competition like this, confidence is important, because over the course of 90 minutes you can be the first or the last team.
“If we can now get a result against China, it would give us even more confidence going into our next game (in the quarterfinals).”
Despite seeing China beaten by Uzbekistan in their second game of the competition, Sanchez is not about to take the East Asian powerhouse lightly ahead of the key encounter.
“We know that China are a very strong team and we will plan well for the match, just as we did for the other two teams in the group.” he explained.
“China have shown over the course of their two games, even during their defeat to Uzbekistan, that they have talented players and are very well organised.
“We will approach the game as if it was a final.”
The quarterfinals are scheduled to be played on January 19 and 20. The semifinals will be played on January 23. The final is slated for January 27.
