Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Ashgabat: Oman lost ground on 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifying Group D leaders Iran after going down 2-1 to Turkmenistan on Tuesday, as Paul Le Guen’s side tasted defeat for the first time in the campaign.
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Artur Gevorkyan broke the deadlock five minutes from the half-time break at the Kopetdag Stadium before Suleyman Muhadov, MVP and Top Scorer as former club FC HTTU won the the 2014 AFC President’s Cup, doubled Turkmenistan’s advantage in the 67th minute.
Substitute Mohammed Al Ghassani pulled one back for Oman in the 70th minute - reducing the deficit just five minutes after coming on for Abdul Aziz Al Maqbali - but the Gulf Sultanate were unable to add to their tally as the Turkmen recorded their third win of the qualifiers.
The victory moved Amanklych Kochumov’s side up to ten points, one fewer that Oman who trail Iran by three points after the three-time AFC Asian Cup winners defeated Guam 6-0 in Tuesday’s other Group D fixture.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.