Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangalore: Oman downed India 2-1 in their 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 opening tie on Thursday.
Gulf Cup 2009 champions Oman did not waste time as Qasim Said found his target only a minute into the game hosted by India at Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
India star Sunil Chhetri however found the equaliser on 26 minutes much to the joy of the more than 19,000 Indian fans at the stadium.
A penalty kick by Imad Al Hosni on 40 minutes regained the lead for Oman as Paul Le Guen’s side won three points from their qualifying campaign opener before going to their next qualifying match against Turkmenistan in Group D on September 3.
The teams in Round 2 will compete according to a double round robin format, and the qualification matches will be held from June 11, 2015 to March 29, 2016.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) 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 slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup finals.
Photo: AFP