Oman have reached the quarter-finals of the FIFA Arab Cup by the skin of their teeth, but coach Branko Ivankovic is hopeful of a good show against a strong Tunisia side in the quarter-finals at the Education City Stadium on Friday. The Eagles of Carthage reached the knockout stages after winning Group B ahead of the UAE. Both Oman and the UAE finished level at six points each, but the former advanced on better goal difference.
Oman produced a great escape in the final group match, defeating Bahrain 3-0 in. It was their first win of the campaign, having lost to Qatar and drawn to Iraq in the previous two to stand on the brink of elimination. Iraq, who were a point ahead of them entering the final group fixture, lost to leaders and hosts Qatar, which also helped the Reds.
“We are well prepared for the Tunisian side. We know they have a very experienced side, but we are not intimidated by their favourite tag,” Ivankovic told the media yesterday. “My players are excited to play the quarter-finals. I am sure my boys would put their heart and soul into the game and play hard against the much experienced rivals,” he said.
Ivankovic is of the view that irrespective of the results his boys have done a decent job here. “We are proud and satisfied to qualify for this stage. We are among the top eight team in the Arab Cup and it shows that we have the skill sets to do well on a high level. The tournament is a learning curve for my boys and they have adapted well,” he said.
“It’s another opportunity for my players to play a strong team. We respect them, and they have a lot of quality, but we have to show our performances to get a result.”  Tunisia coach Mondher El Kabir is also taking a cautious approach for the quarter-final.
“We are playing against a respected opponent who have proved their quality. We have to play with confidence and togetherness, and we have to maintain the same level we showed against the Emirates and Mauritania if we hope to for the later stages of the tournament,” El Kabir said. 
“Oman had shown their grit in the group stage, while we didn’t show our qualities against Syria. We have learned many things in our group matches, and hopefully, we will make it to the semi-finals Oman is a great squad, but we must do our best and show a fighting spirit. We need to be confident in ourselves as a team and individuals to perform well,” he said.
Tunisia have defeated 5-1 Mauritania and the UAE 1-0, but lost to Syria 2-0 in their group outings.