Oman are currently fourth in the table with six points. They have won two of their last three matches, all at home, beating Kuwait 4-0 and Palestine 1-0.
This achievement has a great mark of coach Rashid Jaber, who just took the hot seat not long ago. He helped the team restore hope in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
“The players gave it their all and our defensive effort was commendable. However, the game is over and we must immediately turn our attention to the next challenge.
The result against Palestine was an important step in rekindling our competitive spirit in this group, so we aim to build on this success in the next match,” Jaber said ahead of the match against Iraq.
In contrast to Oman, Iraq have not won their last two matches, losing 2-3 to South Korea and drawing 0-0 with Jordan. Before that, coach Jesus Casas' team had an impressive start, winning 7 points in 3 matches.
Iraq are determined to achieve their goal of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. But to do that, they need to improve their creativity and effectiveness in attack.
Iraq have only conceded three goals and none at home. However, they have only scored four goals, which is the main reason why they are in a deadlock. In the previous round, they drew 0-0 with Jordan at home, thereby missing a great opportunity to usurp their opponents' second place.
In the first leg, Iraq beat Oman 1-0, with striker Ayman Hussein scoring the only goal. In the last 3 matches, Iraq is also undefeated against its opponent.
That will give Iraq more motivation to aim for an away win. Whoever gets 3 points in this match can move up to 2nd place in Group B, opening up many opportunities to compete for a ticket to the World Cup.
The match between Oman and Iraq will take place at 23:00 on November 19.
