Oman national football team

Oman
عُمان
Nickname(s) Al-Ahmar
(The Reds)
Association Oman Football Association
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation WAFF (West Asia)
Head coach Juan Ramón López Caro
Captain Ali Al-Habsi
Most caps Fawzi Bashir (143)[1]
Top scorer Hani Al-Dhabit (42)
Home stadium Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman
FIFA code OMA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 122 Increase 7 (24 November 2016)
Highest 50 (August–October 2004)
Lowest 129 (October 2016)
Elo ranking
Current 82 (June 2015)
Highest 49 (12 April 2005)
Lowest 174 (March 1984)
First international
 Libya 15–1 Muscat and Oman
(Cairo, Egypt; 2 September 1965)
Biggest win
 Oman 12–0 Laos 
(Muscat, Oman; 30 April 2001)
Biggest defeat

 Libya 21–0 Muscat and Oman
(Baghdad, Iraq; 1 April 1966)

 Iraq 7-0 ' Oman
(Baghdad,Iraq; April 6, 1979
Asian Cup
Appearances 3 (first in 2004)
Best result Group stage, 2004, 2007 and 2015

The Oman national football team (Arabic: منتخب عُمان لكرة القدم‎‎) is the national team of Oman that has represented Oman in international competition since 1978. Although the team was officially founded in 1978, the squad was formed long before, and a proper football association was formed only in December, 2005. The team is governed by the Oman Football Association.

History

Prior to the turn of the 21st century, Oman's senior team had generally finished in the last place in all the competitions in which it competed. It was not until the mid 1990s under the OFA chairmanship of Sheikh Saif bin Hashil Al-Maskary did Oman start be extremely successful on the Asian football stage. During this period, Oman won the Asian Under 17 Championship in 1996 and the year 2000, as well as reaching the semi finals of the under 17 World Cup in 1995. Oman nowadays exports players to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and also has their captain playing in England. Former Omani captain, Hani Al-Dhabit was awarded the RSSSF 2001 World Top Scorer, with 22 goals;[2] the most goals scored by a player who won the World Top Scorer award till date, and also being the third Arab and only the first Omani to win the award.[3]

The senior team has never qualified for the World Cup, but has qualified for the Asian Cup in the years 2004, 2007 and most recently in 2015. They have reached the Gulf Cup of Nations final three times, and have won it on their third attempt as hosts.

Gulf Cup of Nations performance

Prior to the new millennium, Oman generally struggled in the Gulf Cup of Nations, usually finishing in 6th or 7th place, even when the cup was held in Oman. It was only in 1998 when the national team began to improve its performance, and in the 2003 and 2004 Gulf Cups new talents like Amad Al-Hosni, Ali Al-Habsi, Sultan Al-Touqi, Badr Al-Maimani and Khalifa Ayil made the team more successful.

In the 2002 Gulf Cup of Nations which was held in Saudi Arabia, Oman had once again finished at an unimpressive 5th place, but under the captaincy of Dhofar F.C.'s Hani Al-Dhabit, Oman had accomplished something which was never done before in the team's history in the Gulf Cup, defeating 9-time winners,[4] Kuwait. The match had ended 3–1 with captain Hani Al-Dhabit scoring a hat-trick. Hani also netted a goal against Bahrain, and a consolation goal in a 2–1 loss against Qatar.[5] At the end of the competition, Hani was the only Omani to score goals, and was also awarded the "Top Goal Scorer" of the competition, with a total of 5 goals.[6]

In the 2004 Gulf Cup which was held in Doha, Oman reached the final for the first time in the team's history, which was eventually lost to the hosts Qatar in a penalty shootout after the goalkeeping sensation Ali Al-Habsi missed a penalty. Qatar won the match 6–5 on penalties after the match had ended 1–1 at normal time. Amad Al-Hosni was awarded the "Top Goal Scorer" award of the competition with a total of 4 goals.[7]

In the 2007 Gulf Cup which was held in the United Arab Emirates, the national team again reached the final for a second consecutive time and again lost 1–0 to the hosts U.A.E.. Although Oman lost to the Emirates in the final, they had maintained an undefeated record throughout the competition excluding the final.[8] Once again Ali Al-Habsi had received the "Best Goalkeeper of the Gulf Cup" award[9] for the third consecutive time in a row, the most won by any goalkeeper in the 40 years of the Gulf Cup tournament. Oman had tied the Emirates in goal scoring with 9 goals each after the competition.[10]

Eventually after losing twice in the Gulf Cup final consecutively, Oman had managed to win the 2009 Gulf Cup of Nations tournament as hosts, by defeating regional giants, Saudi Arabia in a penalty shootout. Oman won the match 6–5 on penalties after the match had ended 0–0 at extra time. Oman maintained a clean-sheet throughout the whole competition.[11] The competition in Muscat was the first for Hassan Rabia, and despite this he managed to score 4 goals making him receive the "Top Goal Scorer" award.[12] Ali Al-Habsi also received his fourth consecutive "Best Goalkeeper Award".[13]

However, Ali Al-Habsi would not go on to feature in the next two Gulf Cup's due to his commitments with his English club team Wigan Athletic. In the 2010 Gulf Cup which was held in Yemen, Oman once again after great performances in the three previous tournaments put up an unimpressive performance, drawing all the three matches of the group stage against Bahrain, the U.A.E and Iraq. Oman could manage to score only one goal in the tournament against Bahrain which was scored by Amad Al-Hosni and hence could not go further in the tournament. Following the bad performances of the team in the regional tournament, the Oman Football Association sacked their then-manager Claude Le Roy on 9 January 2011 who won them their maiden tournament in 2009.

In the 2013 Gulf Cup which was held in Bahrain, Oman again put up an unimpressive performance which was criticized a lot by fans in Oman. Oman could manage to draw only one match against the hosts Bahrain and lost in their other two matches against Qatar and the U.A.E. Oman again could score only one goal and this time it was from the spot by youngster Hussain Al-Hadhri against Qatar which Oman eventually lost 2–1.

YearHost CountryPlace
1970  BahrainDid not enter
1972  Saudi ArabiaDid not enter
1974  Kuwait6th place
1976  Qatar7th place
1979  Iraq7th place
1982  UAE 6th place
1984  Oman7th place
1986  Bahrain7th place
1988  Saudi Arabia7th place
1990  Kuwait4th place
1992  Qatar6th place
1994  UAE6th place
1996  Oman6th place
1998  Bahrain4th place
2002  Saudi Arabia5th place
2003  Kuwait4th place
2004  Qatar2nd place
2007  UAE2nd place
2009  Oman1st place
2010  YemenGroup Stage
2013  BahrainGroup Stage
2014  Saudi Arabia4th place

Team awards

Oman has not won many team titles. What they have achieved, though, is qualifying for Asian Cup three times in 2004 2007 and 2015. However, they never got out of the group stage. In 2009, Oman won their first Gulf Cup trophy at home in Muscat.

YearAwardCompetition
2004 Won second-place trophy17th Gulf Cup of Nations
2007 Won second-place trophy18th Gulf Cup of Nations
2009 Won first-place trophy19th Gulf Cup of Nations
2009 Won fair play team award19th Gulf Cup of Nations

Competition records

World Cup record

World Cup Finals
Year Result Position GP W D* L GS GA
Uruguay 1930 to Spain 1982 Did not enter -------
Mexico 1986 Withdrew -------
Italy 1990 Did not qualify -------
United States 1994 Did not qualify -------
France 1998 Did not qualify -------
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify -------
Germany 2006 Did not qualify -------
South Africa 2010 Did not qualify -------
Brazil 2014 Did not qualify -------
Russia 2018 Did not qualify -------
Total--------

AFC Asian Cup record

Asian Cup Finals
Year Result Position GP W D L GS GA
Hong Kong 1956 to Kuwait 1980 Did not enter -------
Singapore 1984 Did not qualify -------
Qatar 1988 Withdrew -------
Japan 1992 Did not qualify -------
United Arab Emirates 1996 Did not qualify -------
Lebanon 2000 Did not qualify -------
China 2004 Group stage 9th311143
IndonesiaMalaysiaThailandVietnam 2007 Group stage 15th302113
Qatar 2011 Did not qualify -------
Australia 2015 Group stage 12th310215
United Arab Emirates 2019 To be determined -------
Total Best: Group Stage3/16 92346 11

Schedule

Recent and forthcoming matches

Players

Current squad

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Ahmed Al-Rawahi (1994-05-05) 5 May 1994 0 0 Oman Al-Nasr
18 1GK Faiz Al-Rushaidi (1988-07-19) 19 July 1988 16 0 Oman Al-Nasr
22 1GK Riyadh Al-Alawi (1987-02-24) 24 February 1987 0 0 Oman Dhofar
3 2DF Nadhir Awadh Bashir (1994-12-05) December 5, 1994 1 0 Oman Dhofar
13 2DF Abdul Salam Al-Mukhaini (1988-04-07) 7 April 1988 55 1 Oman Dhofar
15 2DF Moataz Salah Abd Raboh (1994-12-05) December 5, 1994 1 0 Oman Dhofar
17 2DF Ali Al-Busaidi (1991-01-21) 21 January 1991 27 1 Oman Dhofar
19 2DF Fahad Al-Jalabubi (1990-08-14) 14 August 1990 18 0 Oman Al-Suwaiq
20 2DF Khalid Al-Yaqoubi (1985-03-01) 1 March 1985 1 0 Oman Fanja
21 2DF Ahmed Al-Mukhaini (1985-05-02) 2 May 1985 7 0 Oman Dhofar
27 2DF Mahmood Al-Mushaifri (1993-01-14) January 14, 1993 1 0 Oman Al-Suwaiq
29 2DF Mohammed Ramadhan Al-Amri (1985-03-01) 1 March 1985 0 0 Oman Muscat
4 3MF Mohammed Said Al-Habsi (1994-01-04) 4 January 1994 1 0 Oman Muscat
5 3MF Hisham Al-Shuaibi (1992-06-09) 9 June 1992 1 0 Oman Dhofar
6 3MF Raed Ibrahim Saleh (1992-06-09) 9 June 1992 60 3 Oman Dhofar
7 3MF Omar Al-Malki (1994-01-04) January 4, 1994 1 0 Oman Al-Shabab
8 3MF Eid Al-Farsi (1987-01-31) 31 January 1987 63 5 Oman Fanja
11 3MF Yaseen Al-Sheyadi (1994-02-05) 5 February 1994 5 0 Oman Al-Suwaiq
12 3MF Mohammed Al-Mashari (1990-12-04) 4 December 1990 13 0 Oman Fanja
14 3MF Mohsin Al-Khaldi (1992-01-01) 1 January 1992 15 0 Oman Al-Nasr
16 3MF Omar Al-Fazari (1993-05-19) May 19, 1993 0 0 Oman Al-Suwaiq
21 3MF Harib Al-Saadi (1990-02-01) 1 February 1990 3 0 Oman Al-Suwaiq
9 4FW Abdul Aziz Al-Muqbali (1989-04-23) 23 April 1989 56 18 Oman Fanja
28 4FW Abdul Rahman Al-Ghassani (1990-07-08) 8 July 1990 1 0 Oman Al-Suwaiq
30 4FW Saud Al-Farsi (1993-12-21) 21 December 1993 7 0 Oman Al-Oruba
31 4FW Said Obaid Al-Abdul Salam (1985-04-01) 1 April 1985 1 0 Oman Al-Khabourah

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Oman squad within the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Ali Al-Habsi (Captain) (1981-12-30) 30 December 1981 118 0 England Reading v.  Iran, 29 March 2016
GK Mazin Al-Kasbi (1993-04-27) 27 April 1993 14 0 Oman Al-Oruba v.  India, 13 October 2015
DF Saad Al-Mukhaini (1987-09-06) 6 September 1987 79 1 Oman Fanja v.  Turkmenistan, 17 November 2015
DF Mohammed Al-Balushi (1989-08-27) 27 August 1989 54 1 Oman Al-Suwaiq v.  Turkmenistan, 17 November 2015
DF Mohammed Al-Musalami (1990-04-27) 27 April 1990 51 2 Oman Al-Suwaiq v.  Iran, 29 March 2016
DF Jaber Al-Owaisi (1989-11-04) 4 November 1989 29 3 Oman Muscat v.  Turkmenistan, 17 November 2015
DF Ali Salim Al-Nahar (1992-08-21) 21 August 1992 25 0 Oman Dhofar v.  Turkmenistan, 17 November 2015
DF Basim Al-Rajaibi (1992-04-13) 13 April 1992 5 0 Oman Al-Nahda v.  India, 13 October 2015
DF Azan Al-Balushi (1990-05-05) 5 May 1990 4 0 Oman Al-Nasr v.  Turkmenistan, 17 November 2015
DF Mohammed Al-Rawahi (1993-04-26) 26 April 1993 2 0 Oman Al-Nahda v.  Iran, 29 March 2016
MF Ahmed Mubarak Al-Mahaijri (1985-02-23) 23 February 1985 133 15 Qatar Al-Markhiya v.  Iran, 29 March 2016
MF Hussain Al-Hadhri (1990-05-21) 21 May 1990 45 4 Oman Dhofar v.  Iran, 29 March 2016
MF Ali Al-Jabri (1990-01-29) 29 January 1990 38 0 Oman Al-Nahda v.  Iran, 29 March 2016
MF Mohammed Al-Siyabi (1988-12-21) 21 December 1988 25 3 Oman Al-Shabab v.  Turkmenistan, 17 November 2015
MF Jameel Al-Yahmadi (1994-01-04) 4 January 1994 1 0 Oman Al-Shabab v.  Guam, 24 March 2016
MF Juma Al-Jamai (1988-12-21) 21 December 1988 0 0 Oman Al-Oruba v.  Iran, 8 October 2015
MF Salah Al-Yahyai (1994-01-04) 4 January 1994 1 0 Oman Al-Seeb v.  Iran, 29 March 2016
MF Ayman Darwish Al-Dhahi (1991-02-10) 10 February 1991 1 0 Oman Al-Suwaiq v.  Iran, 29 March 2016
FW Amad Al-Hosni (1984-07-18) 18 July 1984 120 37 Oman Fanja v.  Turkmenistan, 17 November 2015
FW Qasim Said (1989-04-20) 20 April 1989 73 11 Oman Dhofar v.  Iran, 29 March 2016
FW Mohammed Al-Ghassani (1985-04-01) 1 April 1985 17 2 Oman Saham v.  Turkmenistan, 17 November 2015
FW Said Al-Ruzaiqi (1986-12-12) 12 December 1986 9 3 Oman Dhofar v.  Guam, 8 September 2015
MF Mohsin Al-Ghassani (1990-02-01) 1 February 1990 0 0 Oman Al-Suwaiq v.  Guam, 24 March 2016

Former squads

AFC Asian Cup
Gulf Cup

Personnel

As of May 2015[25][26]

Technical staff

Position Name
Head Coach Spain Juan Ramón López Caro[27][28][29][30][31]
Assistant Coach Spain Lorenzo Antolinez
Fitness Coach Spain Cedric Thyus
Goalkeeping Coach Tunisia Chedli Mabrouki
Team Director Oman Mohammed Al-Balushi
Team Manager Oman Maqbool Al-Balushi Mohammed Al-Alawi
Assistant Team Manager Oman Badar Al-Maimani
Administrative Director Oman Mohammed Al-Alawi
Physiotherapist United Kingdom Harry Brooke
Assistant Physiotherapist Oman Yaqoob Al-Mahrouqi
Masseur Slovenia Pavol Skoda
Ukraine Ryabovol Gennadiy
Kit Man Oman Saleh Al-Habsi
Oman Ahmed Al-Owaisi

Coaches

Manager Years as manager
Egypt Mohammed Al-Khafaji 1974–1976
England George Smith 1979
Tunisia Hamed El-Dhiab 1980–1982
Tunisia Mansaf El-Meliti (caretaker) 1982
Brazil Paulo de Oliveira 1984
Brazil Antônio Clemente 1986
Brazil Jorge Vitório 1986–1988
Germany Karl-Heinz Heddergott 1988–1989
Germany Bernd Patzke 1990–1992
Iran Heshmat Mohajerani 1992–1994
Oman Rashid Jaber 1995–1996
Egypt Mahmoud El-Gohary 1996
Slovakia Jozef Vengloš 1996–1997
Scotland Ian Porterfield 1997
Iran Homayoun Shahrokhi 1997–1998
Brazil Valdeir Vieira 1998–1999
Brazil Carlos Alberto Torres 2000–2001
Czech Republic Milan Máčala 2001
Germany Bernd Stange 2001
Oman Rashid Jaber (caretaker) 2002
Czech Republic Milan Máčala 2003–2005
Croatia Srečko Juričić 2005–2006
Oman Hamad Al-Azani (caretaker) 2006
Czech Republic Milan Máčala 2006–2007
Argentina Gabriel Calderón 2007–2008
Uruguay Julio César Ribas 2008
Oman Hamad Al-Azani (caretaker) 2008
France Claude Le Roy 2008–2010
Oman Hamad Al-Azani 2010–2011
France Paul Le Guen[32] 2011–2015
Spain Juan Ramón López Caro 2016–

Kits and sponsors

The well-known "confettied" kit provided by Grand Sport during Oman's attempted qualification for the 1998 World Cup

Over the years Oman has had multiple kit providers, of which Grand Sport held the contract for the longest period. Oman has also worn kits provided by Puma, Umbro, Lotto and Adidas.

The national team signed a contract in 2006 with Gulf Air,[33][34] but the deal ended abruptly in early 2008 and was replaced with a signed sponsorship by Omantel's Oman Mobile.

On 9 May 2012, the Oman Football Association launched the new official team kit to be worn by Oman in their push for 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round. The new kit was launched together with a new OFA logo. The new kit was designed for Oman by Taj Oman, an Oman-based company.[35] Later in June 2012, Oman's lone airline Oman Air became the official carrier of the Oman Football Association.[36]

On February 3, 2014, Oman Football Association is currently confirmed tie-up with Italian sports apparel manufacturer Kappa. A joint venture agreement was signed by sportswear giant Kappa and the OFA's apparel brand Taj Oman. In a 4-year deal, Kappa will produce the kit worn by all the Oman National football teams bearing the Taj mark, and will provide Oman with a large range of sportswear specific for the country. The deal will see both the names (Kappa & Taj) on the kit worn by the National teams and on all retail items.[37] Oman Air also renewed its deal on the same day with the OFA till the end of the 2013–14 season. On 16 September 2014, Oman Football Association announced that they had signed an agreement with Asia Sports Marketing to become the exclusive sales agent for the Association.[38]

On 9 September 2015, Oman Football Association signed a one-year contract extension with, Oman Air as the official carrier of the national team. The association said that although Oman Air's ticket allocation in the deal is primarily meant for the senior national team's tours, the OFA has often judiciously availed the privilege for club teams' trips to Salalah for Omantel Professional League (OPL) matches and also for overseas travel of the national age-group squads.[39][40] On 18 October 2015, announced a partnership with a new mental energizer Energy Drinks Partner, Effect.[41][42]

Period Kit Manufacturer
1978–1996 Puma
1996–2005 Grand Sport
2005–2006 Umbro
2006–2008 Lotto
2008–2012 Adidas
2012–2014 Taj Oman
2014–present Kappa

See also

References

  1. ↑ FIFA Century Club. FIFA.com
  2. ↑ – Al-Dhabit scored 22 goals in 2001
  3. ↑ – 3rd Arab to receive the award, and first Omani.
  4. ↑ 9-time winners of the Gulf Cup of Nations
  5. ↑ – match results from the 2002 Gulf Cup of Nations.
  6. ↑ – Hani Al-Dhabit, top goal scorer of the 2002 Gulf Cup of Nations with a total of 5 goals.
  7. ↑ Gulf Cup 17 – Qatar – goalzz.com
  8. ↑ – Oman's performance in the 2007 Gulf Cup.
  9. ↑ – Al-Habsi receiving the Best Goalkeeper award.
  10. ↑ – Oman's goal scoring record in the 18th Gulf Cup.
  11. ↑ – Oman's 19th Gulf Cup record.
  12. ↑ Hassan Rabia—19th Gulf Cup top goal scorer.
  13. ↑ – BWFC – Ali 4 time winner of Best Goalkeeper award.
  14. ↑ "Oman's World Cup qualifier game against India shifted to Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex". muscatdaily.com.
  15. ↑ "Oman to play Friendly against New Zealand". ofa.om.
  16. ↑ "Oman to play friendly against New Zealand". Times of Oman.
  17. ↑ "John Caulfield: Hosting Oman a privilege for Cork City". Irish Examiner.
  18. ↑ "Cork City play out friendly draw with Oman". The Irish Times.
  19. ↑ "John Caulfield: Hosting Oman a privilege for Cork City". Irish Examiner.
  20. ↑ "Cork City play out friendly draw with Oman". The Irish Times.
  21. ↑ "Limerick FC Announce Oman International Friendly". limerickfc.ie.
  22. ↑ "Limerick FC draw in friendly with Oman international team". LIMERICK LEADER.
  23. ↑ "Limerick FC Announce Oman International Friendly". limerickfc.ie.
  24. ↑ "Limerick FC draw in friendly with Oman international team". LIMERICK LEADER.
  25. ↑ "Team Management – National Team". ofa.om.
  26. ↑ "Oman Football Association announces new national team staff". Muscat Daily.
  27. ↑ "Spain's Juan Ramon Lopez Caro takes over as Oman football coach". Times Of Oman.
  28. ↑ "Former Real Madrid coach Caro named Le Guen's successor". Muscat Daily.
  29. ↑ "López Caro to coach Oman Football team". Oman Observer.
  30. ↑ "الإسباني لوبيز مدربا للمنتخب الوطني الأول لكرة القدم". azamn.com.
  31. ↑ "الاتحاد العماني يستعين بخدمات الاسباني لوبيز مدرب الاخضر السابق". KOOORA.
  32. ↑ "Oman Football Association 'relieves' Le Guen of coaching duties after Oman's loss to Turkmenistan". Times of Oman.
  33. ↑ – Gulf Air signs deal with Oman
  34. ↑ – SportsOman reports the signed deal
  35. ↑ "OMAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION UNVEILS OFFICIAL LOGO AND KIT". http://theweek.co.om/. External link in |publisher= (help)
  36. ↑ "Oman National Team Announce Major Local Sponsor". Oman Air. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  37. ↑ "Oman National Team Announce Major Local Sponsor". Times of Oman.
  38. ↑ "Oman Football Association announce new exclusive sales partner". Zawya.
  39. ↑ "Our partnership with Oman Air has grown, says Sayyid Khalid". Muscat Daily.
  40. ↑ "اتحاد القدم يمدد عقد الشراكة مع الطيران العماني". azamn.com.
  41. ↑ "Oman Football Score with Effect". ofa.om.
  42. ↑ "Oman FA rope in Effect as new energy drink partner". Times of Oman.

External links

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