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Waagacusub.net – Somalia showed great courage but ultimately lost to Oman, who advanced to the FIFA Arab Cup finals on Sunday night with a 2-1 victory. In the exciting match held at the Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Oman scored twice in the first half before Somalia scored one goal after nine minutes of the second half.
Oman last week qualified for the final 12-team Asian qualifiers for next year’s World Cup in Qatar and will be drawn with Qatar and Iraq in Group A of the Arab Cup to be held later this year.
A fourth team will be added to the group later in the qualifiers currently underway in Doha.
Gulf Cup defending champions Oman were expected to have an easy win over Somalia, ranked 197th in the FIFA world rankings, but things did not quite go their way.
Ranked 80th, more than 100 places above Somalia, they should have won easily but struggled to show cohesion as the scrappy Somalis thwarted time and again.
In the sixth minute of the game, Oman striker Muhsen al-Ghassani’s close-range shot was blocked by the crossbar.
But five minutes later, Al-Ghasani deftly flicked the ball past Somalia goalkeeper Mustafa Mohammed with his left foot after he failed to properly catch a shot from Abdulaziz Makabouli. Oman had several unsuccessful attempts after that, and Mustafa brought Al-Ghasani down in the box in the 33rd minute, earning Oman a penalty. Salah Yahai stepped up to shoot and easily beat Mustafa with a powerful low shot.
Oman led 2-0 at the break, but the second half brought an unexpected outcome as Somalia broke through with a brilliant strike from Abel Gillie.
The Omani defence was under pressure following a free kick and goalkeeper Faiyz al-Rushedi was left wanting when Gilly collected a pass from the left wing and broke through the defence to head home.
Substitute Issa Ahmed had a great chance to equalise for Somalia a few minutes later, but this time al-Rushedi was able to get the equaliser. Oman could have added another goal, but al-Ghassani’s shot hit the post again, and al-Rushedi saved Anwar Shakunda’s shot in the final minute to ensure they progress to the group stage.
Meanwhile, FIFA confirmed yesterday that some members of the South Sudan national team delegation tested positive for Covid-19 following standard PCR tests carried out ahead of the FIFA Arab Cup qualifiers.
In accordance with current medical procedures, they have been placed in isolation and activities scheduled for today have been postponed.
Protecting the health and safety of all those involved in the FIFA Arab Cup remains the organizers’ top priority, according to Qatar News Agency.
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