People used to say that losing the match against Oman was embarrassing. However, his arrogance has grown stronger than then. He is getting better this time. If Korea remains shaky, it would be a perfect blow to Oman.
The Republic of Korea will hold the second Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at 11 p.m. on the 10th at the Sultan Qaboos Stadium in Muscat, Oman. The team called the Palestinians home in the first match, but it ended in a 0-0 draw, which further intensified criticism against coach Hong Myung-bo and the Korea Football Association.
Oman is a team with vivid memories of an unexpected victory against South Korea. Twenty-one years ago in October 2003, when Korea left Muscat for the Asian Cup qualifying round, it suffered a crushing 1-3 defeat by Oman. The match quickly deteriorated public opinion on then-coach Umbert Kuehlho, and later led to his replacement after the draw against the Maldives. Oman’s goalkeeper Ali Alhabsi later moved to Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League, and his good performance against Korea was finally understood.
Currently, Oman is ranked 76th in the FIFA rankings. The ranking is closer to Palestine (96th) than Korea (23rd). It is still several steps below Korea.
However, Oman’s characteristic is that the game of challenging a strong team is higher than the ranking. Even after 2021, there have been consistent cases of performance against teams that can be called Asian powerhouses once a year.
Oman gave a blow to Japan at the 안전놀이터 World Cup qualifying round in September 2021. It was also a home match for Japan, but it was a win. In February 2022, the team tied the match 2-2 at home in the World Cup qualifying round against Australia. Last year, it met Saudi Arabia in the Gulf Cup of Arabia, and beat the latter 2-1.
Earlier this year, the team was eliminated early in the Asian Cup with two draws and one loss in the group stage. However, even then, it did not collapse easily enough to advance to the tournament if it scored one more goal in any match, losing to Saudi Arabia by one goal and drawing two matches. In addition, Jaroslav Silhavi, a well-known Middle East leader who served as the Czech national team after the Asian Cup, was appointed, and it is not easy to see that he is performing well with three wins, one draw and one loss since taking office.
Korea was also considered a so-called “honey-jo” in that it avoided all Asian powerhouses at the time of the group formation. As the home game draw against Palestine, which was thought to be the weakest, shows, however, Asian power leveling is progressing rapidly, and Middle Eastern teams are improving their competitiveness.
It is not easy to go beyond Oman’s away game with a game that has not found a clear path like the match against Palestine.