Lopez Caro praises Oman's spirit but admits lot of work to do against Iran

3/27/2016 8:56:34 AM

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily)

Notwithstanding the close 1-0 win against a much lower-ranked Guam on Thursday night Oman coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro lauded his boys' spirit and said there's a lot of work to do for the Red Warriors as they take on fancied Iran in Tehran on Tuesday.

The victory for the hosts in a Group D match of the FIFA 2018 World Cup/2019 Asian Cup joint-qualifiers at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex (SQSC) was achieved when experienced midfielder Ahmed Mubarak 'Kanu' slotted the ball home in the 53rd minute of the match following a goal-mouth scramble.

Oman which is ranked 97th as against Guam's 154th was expected to have an easy outing but the Matao came up with a vastly-improved show to put the hosts under pressure throughout the match.

Spanish coach Lopez Caro had made five changes to starting XI that last played in a World Cup qualifier against Turkmenistan in November.

'Only result matters'

'In these times a result is all that matters. Gone are the days of big margins and I am impressed with the boys' spirit during the match' he said.

'There's a lot of scope for improvement as we have a new team and I am confident that the players will learn from the match against Guam. We did commit a lot of mistakes in today's match and we will analyse it to avoid making those mistakes in our next game. There is much work needed for the next game against Iran' he added.

Iran beat India 4-0 to remain on top of the group with 17 points from five wins and two draws. Oman is second with 14 points with four wins two draws and one loss and Tuesday's match at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran will determine the group topper.

Lopez Caro said the 'key against Iran would be to minimise the errors'. 'It is going to be difficult and it demands a lot of work from the young boys. We will do our best' he said.

White satisfied

Guam coach Gary White was all praise for his players. 'What we showed not just tonight but throughout this campaign is that we belong at this level. To have performed well across 90 minutes and that is something I am proud of' the resilient Englishman said.

'The fact that we are now so close to securing a direct qualification spot in the Asian Cup which places us in the top half of all Asian nations shows just how far this team has come.'

'Controversial goal'

Meanwhile a report on the Guam Football Association's (GFA) website claimed that Oman's goal was controversial as 'replays showed an Omani player [Mohammed al Habsi] in an offside position in the lead-up to Ahmed Mubarak's goal'.

'To have performed so well across the 90 minutes and then to have a decision that was so blatantly wrong decide the game is a bitter pill to swallow' White was quoted as saying in the report.

All the group winners and four best runners-up - from 12 contenders - will advance to the 2019 Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining 12 slots.

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