(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Oman's coach Pim Verbeek is widely regarded for his tactical acumen and reading of the game. He has achieved success with some of the best Asian teams - be it guiding Australia to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, or securing a third-place for South Korea at the 2007 Asian Cup.
He recently led the Red Warriors to the 2019 Asian Cup in UAE and the 61 year old Dutchman is now at the helm of Oman's campaign under way in the 23rd Gulf Cup in Kuwait City.
A day after Oman defeated ten-time champions and hosts Kuwait 1-0 in a Group A match in front of a nearly-packed 63,000 Jaber al Ahmed International Stadium to pick full points and enhance its hopes of a semifinal berth, Verbeek sounded confident of overcoming a strong Saudi Arabia side when the teams clash in their concluding group encounter on Thursday.
Oman needs an outright win against the Green Falcons as a draw will leave Oman's fate at the hands of UAE, which takes on hosts Kuwait in the other group game. Both the matches will be played simultaneously at 7.30pm with Oman taking on the Saudis at the Kuwait Sports Club.
Saudi Arabia leads the group with four points and is ahead of UAE, which too has four points, on goal-difference. Oman is third with three points while Kuwait is yet to open its account.
Speaking to Muscat Daily by phone from Kuwait City on Tuesday, Verbeek said, 'The win has given us a much-needed boost ahead of the Saudi game.
'The Saudis may not have come with their No 1 team but still it is a skillful and strong team. It is one of the better teams here and we need to be at our best to get past its challenge. The Saudi players are physically stronger and we will need to raise our game to beat them,' he said.
The Oman coach said, 'It is not going to be easy on Thursday and we know a win will seal our spot in the semis.
'We lost narrowly to the UAE in opener but we were in control of that game and yesterday, too, we dominated throughout.
'Kuwait came back strongly in the last 15 minutes of the match but our defence stood firm. I was impressed with my players' intent as they fought hard to earn the win.'
Verbeek hoped that his players will get enough time to recover after two hard-fought matches. 'We had a light session today morning and I hope they recover for Thursday's key clash. So far, there are no injuries in the squad,' said the coach.
'The victory over Kuwait followed our good performance against the UAE despite the loss. The boys went into Kuwait game with a lot of confidence and it reflected on Monday night.
The Dutchman, who has backed his 4-3-3 style of play, rather than traditional Oman style of 4-4-2, said, 'I like to have three attackers with Raeed Ibrahim (left wing) and Jameel al Yahamdi (right wing) doubling up as attacking wingers to provide support to our main striker, Khalid al Hajri.
'With Mohsin Jawhar playing the role of central midfielder, I am satisfied with the team's set-up. Hajri has been impressive up front and was instrumental in earning the spot kick against Kuwait last night.'
'All the teams in our group have displayed good defensive play. Saudis are defensively solid and it will be a challenge to break it but I am confident of my boys. I am hopeful of a positive result,' said Verbeek.
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