“Full credit to Oman, they were physically very strong. We are disappointed with the result though as we did some good things in the game. We went ahead, then 2-1, we should have had three points,” said Arnold.

 

“We have everything in our hands, we have third place, we have Japan at home next match, We beat them we are level, we have a superior goal difference. We beat Saudi Arabia, we qualify.”

Having said that, Arnold admitted Australia should have walked away with three points against Oman.

 

“We took our foot off the pedal (after taking the lead). We should have been more aggressive. That was disappointing.”

 

Australia twice led through strikes by Jamie Maclaren and Aaron Mooy, only for Abdullah Fawaz to cancel both goals out at the Sultan Qaboos Stadium. 

While Oman may have dented Australia’s hopes, the result meant they are out of the running for third place, which would have taken them into the playoff with the third-placed side from Group A. 

 

Head coach Branko Ivankovic, however, was pleased with the effort shown by his players. 

“I want to congratulate the players for the performance they had in this difficult match against a strong Australian team. They showed their ability to play against strong teams and I'm satisfied with their performance,” said Ivankovic.

“It was not an easy match for our team and everyone knows the strength and experience of the Australia team.

 

“We were missing many players tonight whether due to COVID-19 or injuries. Our players showed high respect to our opponents and I told them at half time that they should change this and we managed to have a good second half.”

Oman play Vietnam and China PR in the March international window.