Oman national football team

Oman
عُمان
Nickname(s) Al-Ahmar
(The Reds)
Association Oman Football Association
Sub-confederation WAFF (West Asia)
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Head coach Paul Le Guen
Asst coach Yves Colleu
Captain Ali Al-Habsi
Most caps Fawzi Bashir (124)
Top scorer Hani Al-Dhabit (42)
FIFA code OMA
FIFA ranking 97 Decrease 1 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 50 (August 2004)
Lowest FIFA ranking 117 (July 2003)
Elo ranking 78 (31 March 2015)
Highest Elo ranking 49 (12 April 2005)
Lowest Elo ranking 174 (March 1984)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Sudan 15–0 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)
Asian Cup
Appearances 3 (First in 2004)
Best result First round, 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;[1] 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.[2]

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,[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7] Once again Ali Al-Habsi had received the "Best Goalkeeper of the Gulf Cup" award[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11] Ali Al-Habsi also received his fourth consecutive "Best Goalkeeper Award".[12]

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 twice in 2004 and 2007. However, both the times they were eliminated in the first round itself. Later 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 1986Withdrew-------
Italy 1990Did not qualify-------
United States 1994Did not qualify-------
France 1998Did not qualify-------
South Korea Japan 2002Did not qualify-------
Germany 2006Did not qualify-------
South Africa 2010Did not qualify-------
Brazil 2014Did not qualify-------
Russia 2018To be determined-------
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 stage9th311143
IndonesiaMalaysiaThailandVietnam 2007 Group stage15th302113
Qatar 2011 Did not qualify -------
Australia 2015 Group stage12th310215
TotalBest: Group Stage3/16 9 2 3 4 6 11

Schedule

Recent and forthcoming matches

Players

Current squad

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Ali Al-Habsi (Captain) 30 December 1981 106 0 England Wigan Athletic
18 GK Riyadh Al-Alawi 24 February 1987 0 0 Oman Al-Oruba
22 GK Mohannad Al-Zaabi 25 October 1992 2 0 Oman Al-Khabourah
2 DF Mohammed Al-Musalami 27 April 1990 39 2 Oman Fanja
3 DF Ahmed Al-Mukhaini 2 May 1985 3 0 Oman Al-Oruba
5 DF Fahad Nasib Bamasila July 8, 1986 0 0 Oman Al-Nasr
11 DF Saad Al-Mukhaini 6 September 1987 69 0 Oman Al-Oruba
13 DF Abdul Salam Al-Mukhaini 7 April 1988 44 1 Kuwait Al-Kuwait
14 DF Azan Al-Balushi August 27, 1989 3 0 Oman Al-Musannah
15 DF Ali Salim Al-Nahar 21 August 1992 21 0 Oman Dhofar
17 DF Hassan Mudhafar Al-Gheilani 26 June 1980 119 6 Oman Al-Oruba
19 DF Fahad Al-Jalabubi August 14, 1990 16 0 Oman Saham
23 DF Ali Al-Busaidi 21 January 1991 17 1 Oman Al-Nahda
4 MF Ali Al-Jabri 29 January 1990 36 0 Oman Fanja
6 MF Raed Ibrahim Saleh 9 June 1992 48 2 Oman Fanja
8 MF Eid Al-Farsi 31 January 1987 53 5 Oman Al-Oruba
12 MF Ahmed Mubarak Al-Mahaijri 23 February 1985 120 12 Oman Al-Oruba
21 MF Mohsin Al-Khaldi 1 January 1992 5 0 Oman Saham
9 FW Abdulaziz Al-Muqbali 23 April 1989 44 15 Kuwait Al-Kuwait
10 FW Qasim Said 20 April 1989 60 8 Oman Al-Nasr
16 FW Yaqoob Al-Qasmi 4 September 1985 38 5 Oman Saham
7 FW Said Al-Ruzaiqi 12 December 1986 8 3 Oman Al-Nahda
20 FW Waleed Al-Saadi 19 February 1995 0 0 Oman Al-Suwaiq

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 Mazin Al-Kasbi 27 April 1993 14 0 Oman Fanja v.  Kuwait, 17 January 2015
GK Sulaiman Al-Buraiki 30 July 1986 0 0 Oman Al-Nahda v.  Kuwait, 17 January 2015
GK Faiz Al-Rushaidi July 19, 1988 13 0 Oman Saham v.  Kosovo, 7 September 2014
DF Jaber Al-Owaisi 4 November 1989 29 3 Oman Al-Shabab v.  Kuwait, 17 January 2015
DF Nasser Al-Shimli 15 February 1989 8 0 Oman Al-Oruba v.  Kuwait, 17 January 2015
DF Amer Said Al-Shatri 5 April 1990 2 0 Oman Dhofar v.  Kuwait, 17 January 2015
DF Mohammed Al-Balushi August 27, 1989 43 2 Oman Al-Nahda v.  Singapore, 5 March 2014
DF Nadhir Sloum August 9, 1992 7 0 Oman Fanja v.  Singapore, 5 March 2014
MF Mohammed Al-Siyabi 21 December 1988 20 3 Oman Al-Shabab v.  Kuwait, 17 January 2015
MF Hani Al-Dhabit October 15, 1979 85 46 Oman Dhofar v.  United Arab Emirates, 25 November 2014
MF Hussain Al-Hadhri May 21, 1990 39 4 Oman Dhofar v.  United Arab Emirates, 25 November 2014
MF Juma Darwish Al-Mashari September 29, 1984 37 2 Oman Al-Nasr v.  United Arab Emirates, 25 November 2014
MF Mohammed Al-Mashari December 4, 1990 13 0 Oman Fanja v.  Uruguay, 13 October 2014
MF Saud Al-Farsi December 21, 1993 1 0 Oman Sur v.  Uzbekistan, 27 May 2014
FW Abdul Rahman Al-Ghassani 8 July 1990 0 0 Oman Fanja v.  Malaysia, 26 March 2015
FW Amad Al-Hosni 18 July 1984 104 36 Oman Saham v.  Kuwait, 17 January 2015
FW Mohammed Al-Ghassani April 1, 1985 14 1 Oman Al-Shabab v.  Yemen, 7 November 2014
FW Sami Al-Hasani January 29, 1992 5 1 Oman Sur v.  Costa Rica, 10 October 2014

Former squads

AFC Asian Cup
Gulf Cup

Personnel

As of 17 December 2014[14][15]

Technical staff

Paul Le Guen, the current Oman manager
Position Name
Head Coach France Paul Le Guen
Assistant Coach France Yves Colleu
Oman Muhannah Al-Adawi
Goalkeeping Coach France Christian Mas
Team Manager Oman Mohammed Al-Alawi
Team Doctor France Joel Gaston Le Hir
Physiotherapist Oman Mansoor 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 2011–present

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,[16][17] 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.[18] Later in June 2012, Oman's lone airline Oman Air became the official carrier of the Oman Football Association.[19]

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.[20] 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.[21]

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

External links