AFC Asian Qualifiers - Oman’s determination earns Jaber’s praise

Ardhiyah: Rasheed Jaber was beaming with pride after his Oman side battled to a 1-0 win against Kuwait in their AFC Asian Qualifiers™ – Road to 26 Group B tie on Tuesday to keep alive hopes of automatic qualification.

Issam Al Sabhi’s strike in the 56th minute settled the hard-fought contest at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium as Oman cut the gap to second place Jordan to just three points with two rounds of matches remaining.

#AsianQualifiers - Road To 26 | Group B : Kuwait 0 - 1 Oman

"The match was difficult, as we played against a developing Kuwaiti team that performed well,” said Jaber. “Our goal from the start was to achieve a positive result, and that's what we achieved.

"We desperately needed this victory to continue our journey in the Qualifiers, and the players deserve credit for having succeeded in obtaining four points from our two matches.

"The positive attitude we showed in these two away matches will motivate us for the upcoming ties, as the door is still open for everyone to compete for qualification spots.”

For Kuwait, the defeat closed the door on them achieving automatic qualification from this stage but they remain in contention to reach the playoffs, although four points separate them from Oman in fourth spot.

Assistant coach Ahmed Abdul Karim was left to rue the drop in concentration as the game progressed but vowed to keep fighting as long as qualification is mathematically possible.

"At first we were the better side and could have scored, as we controlled the game and had a slight advantage,” said Ahmed. “However, after that, the team's concentration dropped and they began to rush.

"The same pattern continued in the second half, with Oman holding a slight advantage. We were also affected by Khalid Ibrahim's substitution in the first half because of the injury.

"We tried to get back into the game in the second half and made some substitutions, but Oman performed well defensively."

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