Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bishkek: Oman qualified for the AFC U-16 Championship courtesy of a 3-1 victory over a Nepal side that needed only a draw from Sunday’s encounter to top Group B ahead of the Gulf Sultanate.
An 11th minute strike from Thamir Al Zaabi supplemented by Mohamed Khalifa Al Khamisi’s penalty with a minute of the first half remaining saw Oman put one foot in next year’s finals knowing that a win would see them join Nepal on six points and book their ticket to India on account of a better head-to-head record.
An 88th minute penalty from substitute Prezen Tamang - who had replaced Rejin Subba, Nepal’s hero in their 2-1 win over Jordan, just seven minutes earlier - gave the South Asians a glimmer of hope but that was snuffed out two minutes second-half stoppage when fellow substitute Mohammed Obais Al Qaidi restored Oman’s two-goal advantage.
The win saw Oman qualify for the AFC U-16 Championship while Nepal had to settle for second place and hope that their record from their three matches in Bishkek will be good enough to see them join the Omanis in India as one of the four best second-placed teams.
The attendances for Kyrgyzstan’s matches have been impressive and the Group B hosts finally gave their fans something to cheer as the home side ended their campaign with a 4-1 win over Jordan.
The 7400 fans that had turned up at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium hoping for the young Kyrgyz to end on a high saw Gulzhigit Alykulov open the scoring after 11 minutes before Emir Shigaibaev put the home side 2-0 up in the 33rd minute.
Jordan reduced the deficit shortly after the restart when substitute Laith Husam Mohammad Hbowal scored a 48th minute penalty having replaced Hamza Nayef Al Mrdi at the start of the second half.
But with Jordan reduced to ten men following the sending off of defender Mohammad Akram, Kyrgyzstan regained the initiative and after captain Maksat Dzhakybaliev made it 3-1 in the 72nd minute Timur Uulu Orzobek capped the win four minutes into second-half stoppage time as the Central Asians finished third ahead of the Jordanians.
Eleven group winners and four best second-placed teams will join India in next year’s finals, with the tournament hosts receiving an automatic qualification. Should India finish top of their qualifying group or among the four best second-placed teams, the fifth best second-placed nation will qualify for the final competition.