Qatar aim to seal top spot with win over Oman

Qatar aim to seal top spot in Group E when they clash with Oman in the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Monday.
Unbeaten Qatar have 19 points from seven matches and will just have to avoid defeat against Oman to emerge group winners and directly qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup in China.
Oman are second in the group with 12 points from five matches and will have to win all their three remaining group matches to displace Qatar from the top.
Qatar lead Group E with 19 points from seven matches with second placed Oman seven adrift but with two games in hand – against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Felix Sanchez’s side stretched their lead at the top of the standings after defeating India 1-0 on Thursday and a draw against Oman will seal top spot and confirm their place in the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Finals.
With their Matchday Two draw against India in September 2019 the only blot in their near flawless qualifying campaign, Qatar will go into the tie having already beaten Oman once in the Asian Qualifiers, a 2-1 win at the Al Janoub Stadium in 2019.
Head coach Felix Sanchez wasn’t overly concerned with his team’s inability to put away their chances against India on Thursday but will remind his players that they can’t afford to squander opportunities against an Oman side bidding to steal top spot from the reigning AFC Asian Cup holders.
Sanchez said Qatar players are motivated to perform at the best level against Oman on Monday as they seek direct qualification to the Asian Cup.
“They (Oman) are our main rivals and it’s a key game. They’ve quality and are physically strong. We need to be at our best to get a good result. Hopefully, we can get the points we need to qualify for the Asian Cup,” Sanchez said at his press conference yesterday.
He added that Qatar’s performance against Oman will make all the difference in the group.
“There is pressure but pressure is on both sides. It’s our responsibility to win points. This is the game that will make the difference so we have to stay focused and avoid mistakes,” he said.
“Every single detail can make a difference.” The Spaniard said defender Pedro Miguel is still recovering from injury and therefore is not part of the squad.
“Pedro is not on our list. Akram Afif was given the green light to play in the last match but didn’t feel confident. So we decided not to take a risk. Hopefully, we’ll see him soon,” he added.
Meanwhile, Branko Ivankovic’s Oman are in a strong position to claim one of the qualifying spots for the best second-placed teams should they fail to leapfrog Qatar after the completion of their remaining matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Oman will head into the tie against Qatar having registered wins over Thailand (1-0) and Indonesia (3-1) in friendlies and Ivankovic has named a strong 29-member squad for this month’s triple-header, including striker Munther al-Alawi and 30-year old Ali al-Busaidi.
Elsewhere, Bangladesh head coach Jamie Day hopes his team will retain the same intensity which saw them rally back to hold Afghanistan last week when they clash with India today.
When the two teams met in 2019, Bangladesh were disappointed not to walk away with the three points as India scored late in the game courtesy of Seiminlen Doungel’s strike.
India, who had to play with 10 men against Qatar on Thursday, will be targeting their first win of the campaign as Igor Stimac’s side look to improve on their haul of three points from six matches.
India kept Qatar at bay in the second half thanks to some solid defending and with Glen Martins coming off an impressive debut in Indian colours alongside a rested Sunil Chhetri, Stimac will be optimistic of his team’s chances against Bangladesh.

Today’s schedule
5pm: Bangladesh v India
8pm: Oman v Qatar
Venue: Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha