Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Oman’s revival in the final round of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup continued on Tuesday as Iraq needed a first-half penalty from captainYounus Mahmood to earn a 1-1 draw at Al Arabi Stadium.
Defender Mohammed Al Balushi had opened the scoring for Oman with an eighth minute header only for Mahmood to net his seventh goal of the qualifying campaign from the penalty spot eight minutes before half-time in the Qatari capital.
The stalemate is Oman’s second consecutive draw in Group B after bouncing back from their 3-0 opening day defeat by Japan with a goalless draw against Australia on Friday, while Iraq are also winless in the final round Group Stage having drawn 1-1 with Jordan at the start of June.
Iraq are next in qualifying action against unbeaten Group B leaders Japan on September 11, while Oman have to wait until October 16 to entertain Jordan after the pair joined Australia on two points – with the trio already five points adrift of 2011 AFC Asian Cup winners Japan.
"I'm happy that we got a point from such a hard away game," said Oman coach Paul Le Guen.
"We are still in competition and I congratulate the players for this result because we were under a lot of pressure in the three matches that we have played in the competition.
"We still have a long way to go and hopefully we can finish at least third in the group to battle for a place in the 2014 World Cup."
Iraq started brightly but it was Oman who took the lead after just eight minutes as centre-back Al Balushi muscled his way onto Hussain Ali Al Hadhri’s free-kick into the area and directed a downward header into the bottom corner with goalkeeper Mohammed Kassid rooted to the spot.
Karrar Jasim was presented with a glorious chance to pull Iraq level six minutes later but failed to find the target with a unmarked header from a promising position on the edge of the six yard area before Oman goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi was forced into a full length diving save to push away Nashat Akram’s free-kick as Iraq began to assert themselves on the match as the half progressed.
Hadhri tested Kassid with a rare attacking threat for Oman after 31 minutes, but just six minutes later Iraq were back on level terms as Mahmood coolly converted from the penalty spot after Abdul Al Mukhaini was adjudged to have handled the ball in the wall while attempting to block a free-kick from the Iraq captain.
Oman edged a tight second half with neither side able to create a clear chance on goal until Ahmed Al Mahajiri sent a free-kick from the edge of the Iraq are curling just past the post with 19 minutes remaining.
Iraq had penalty appeals waved away with just under 10 minutes remaining as Mahmood tangled with Raed Saleh inside the area before the Iraqi captain shot wide from a promising position inside the Oman 18 yard area although the 2007 AFC Asian Cup MVP was impeded by team-mate Jasim.
"I'm not satisfied with the result as we were hoping to get a win from the match," said Iraq coach Zico.
"It was a hard match for both teams, but they failed to create good chances on the night and we failed to win.
"We produced a good performance in the second half, but our midfield didn't play well.
"Generally speaking, our team didn't have the performance that we were looking for."
Photo: AFP