KUALA LUMPUR: Despite being considered the favourites, Oman will not underestimate their opponents including the Harimau Malaya squad in the World Cup Qualifiers starting in November.
Oman National Team Director Waleed Al Noumani said all the teams drawn in Group D of the second round of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers have a balanced chance of advancing further.
He said the performance of almost all national teams is also improving at the moment and each team has developed a new strategy approach to the game.
“Although we have met with that team before we need to be more aware of what is coming. For sure all teams now will work hard to qualify and win each game,” he said when met here, recently.
Malaysia had previously lost all three friendlies against Oman, with their last meeting ending in a 0-6 humbling for the Harimau Malaya in 2015.
Joining Oman and Malaysia in Group D of the qualifiers are Kyrgyzstan and the winner of the playoff between Taiwan and Timor Leste.
Only the top two teams from each group will book a spot in the 2027 Asian Cup Finals and compete in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, while the bottom two teams from each group can still earn a place in the Asian Cup Finals via round three of the qualifiers.
Based on the world ranking, Oman are the highest ranked at number 73, followed by Kyrgyzstan (97), Malaysia (136), Taiwan (153) and Timor-Leste (192).
None of these teams have ever qualified for the World Cup.
The Harimau Malaya, under the guidance of head coach Kim Pan Gon, created history last year when they ended a 42-year wait to qualify on merit for the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar from Jan 12 to Feb 10 next year.-Bernama
