The Oman side will get their crucial campaign underway with a high-profile showdown against Iraq, where they will be eager to secure an early win to enhance their prospects of progressing in the tournament.
Head coach Jaroslav Silhavy is pushing hard at the training camps where he has been using all his tactical and physical resources and execution skills to ensure his charges are ready to combat the battle-hardened Iraqis at their home ground.
The two teams will come into this opening group stage clash under an immense amount of pressure, with the three points on offer here in terms of qualifying to the latter stages of the tournament which is crucial in the opening phase.
Omani head coach’s preparations have been focused on how to contain Iraqi’s physical train on transition football and how to avoid the spaces being flooded with runs in from the midfielders.
Oman and Iraq have a long-standing football rivalry, with the two teams lock horns in closely fought matches that are often attritional in nature.
Iraq has the advantage of playing on home turf in front of a rabid home crowd while Oman has a well-balanced team, comprising experience and flair to implement game plans, however intricate, when under the cosh. Football pundits foresee a fierce midfield struggle, with set-piece proficiency and organisational defence a function of victory.
Ica for Oman, to get a good result in this first game will mean so much more than the three points in the table, it will give the players a great psychological starting point for the difficult game that will follow.
As the home fans wait in anticipation for the match to begin, the Warriors are concentrating fully on a disciplined display of high energy football, aimed to reach the world’s biggest football competitions.
