AFC Asian Qualifiers
Oman went into the half-time break level with Issam Al Sabhi equalising after Nguyen Tien Linh had given Vietnam the lead. A rejuvenated Oman then claimed the three points with second half goals from Mohsin Al Khaldi and Salah Al Yahyaei to move third in the standings after four matches.
#AsianQualifiers - Group B | Oman 3 - 1 Vietnam
“I'm very proud with the result as our players showed a great performance and I want to thank them for their fantastic effort,” said Ivankovic.
“I told the players at half time that they should be patient. We talked about the way to make a good comeback in the second period and this is what happened eventually.”
“We created many scoring chances but we were not lucky to score them,” said the 67-year-old Croatian. “The most important thing is that we managed to get the three points.
“With the return of the local league, the players will play more in order to improve their performance.”
The win was much needed as Oman – after opening their campaign with a stunning 1-0 win over Japan – suffered defeats to Saudi Arabia and Australia.
The win puts them within sight of leaders Saudi Arabia, who have 12 points, and Australia – who are three adrift after their 2-1 defeat to Japan on Tuesday.
Oman play China PR on November 11 with Japan to follow five days later.
For Vietnam, there was no reward yet again despite a spirited performance as the Southeast Asian side suffered their fourth consecutive defeat in their debut appearance at this stage of the AFC Asian Qualifiers.
Head coach Park Hang-seo said he was satisfied with the performance of his players despite the defeat.
"This is the first time that Vietnam have made it to the final round of the World Cup qualifiers. Just like the fans, I too expected some good results but to be honest, we need more time to improve," Park said.
"I told the players that nobody wants to lose, and we still have many games ahead."
Vietnam's November fixtures are against Japan and Saudi Arabia at home.
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