Oman defeated Bangladesh 3-0 in Group E of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 on Tuesday. Oman, who had already secured their berth in the final round of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 as one of the best five runners-up, finished with 18 points while Bangladesh ended their campaign without a win.
Oman imposed their presence early in the game and could have gone ahead in the third minute but Khalid al-Hajri’s cross to Mohamed al-Ghafri inside the danger area was intercepted by Bangladesh goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico. Bangladesh were calm under pressure as Zico parried Khalid al-Braiki’s overhead kick in the 17th minute and Mohamed Ibrahim produced a goal-line clearance off Amjad al-Harthi’s header moments later.
However, Oman - who edged Afghanistan 2-1 on Friday - were not to be denied when they opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after a lapse in concentration by the Bangladesh defence. Omar al-Fazari initiated the move when he sent a through ball to al-Hajri and the forward did well to find the advancing al-Ghafri, who finished off nicely from close range.
Bangladesh wasted an opportunity to level the score in the 29th minute after Yeasin Arafat angled his header straight into the arms of Faiz al-Rushaidi. Zico, meanwhile was forced to pull off an acrobatic save when he palmed away Mohsin al-Khaldi’s free-kick in the 37th minute and Afghanistan survived another scare at the stroke of half-time when Oman’s Ahmed al-Kaabi’s effort was denied by the post. Bangladesh conceded their second in the 61st minute when al-Fazari did well with his run inside the box and his cut-back found its way to al-Hajri, who scored with a clinical finish. Al-Hajri added his second goal of the evening in the 81st minute when he combined nicely with substitutes Abdulaziz al-Muqbali and Zahir al-Aghbari, finishing off a fine team move to put Oman 3-0 up.
India seal third place after stalemate with Afghanistan
India played to a 1-1 draw with Afghanistan to finish third in Group E. The result means India confirmed their place in the final round of the Asian Qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 with Afghanistan also going through.
India head coach Igor Stimac gave Ashique Kuruniyan the nod to start after the winger’s impressive display against Bangladesh, while Bipin Singh and Udanta Singh were on the bench. The Blue Tigers quickly settled into the match and got their first look at goal in the third minute after Brandon Fernandes sent Manvir Singh through into the box but the forward’s shot was parried away by Afghanistan goalkeeper Ovays Azizi.
Afghanistan responded with an attempt of their own three minutes later as captain Farshad Noor saw his volleyed effort blocked by Chinglensana Singh. India had another chance just before the quarter of an hour mark when midfielder Glan Martins threaded a clever ball to Sunil Chhetri, who struck well with his left foot but Azizi easily deflected the ball for a corner. Afghanistan suffered a setback in the 29th minute when captain Noor had to be replaced by Adam Najem after picking up an injury as the score remained 0-0 going into the break.
Afghanistan started the second half well and were almost rewarded in the 57th minute when Masih Saighani lost his marker but fired his shot straight into the hands of India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. India squandered another golden opportunity in the 62nd minute after Fernandes’ free-kick into the area was cleared by Zohib Amiri.
India finally broke the deadlock in the 75th minute when Manvir and Ashique combined nicely before the latter sent a looping cross towards the far post, which a desperate Afghanistan goalkeeper Azizi ended up sending the ball into his own net. However, Afghanistan clawed their way back into the tie in the 82nd minute when midfielder Noor Husin did well to lose his marker down the left flank before finding Hossein Zamani, who curled his effort into the far post to beat Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.