According to Mehr reporter, Oman national football team under the leadership of “Branko Ivankovic” in the Asian Nations Cup is in group F with the teams of Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan. Criticisms against Bronco increased after the team’s 1-0 defeat against Kyrgyzstan in the qualifying stage of the 2026 World Cup to the point where the football federation of this country supported these criticisms in a statement and said: “It understands the anger of the fans and appreciates reasonable criticism.”
Another factor that has raised the expectations of the Oman national team was the early closing of the league on November 26 so that the team could do its preparation in the best way.
These criticisms continued and increased after the announcement of the final list of this team for the Asian Nations Cup. In this list, Bronco decided not to invite some prominent Omani players to the national team. These criticisms intensified when the veteran Omani player Abdulaziz Al-Maghabi was not called to the team’s camp. But the former head coach of the Iranian national team, in justifying his decision, announced that although “Abd al-Aziz Al-Maghabi” is a great player, there are important attackers in this team.
“Branko Ivankovic” also announced about the conditions of the Oman national team: the preparation camps of this team have been very effective and the mistakes that were in the two World Cup qualifiers against Chinese Taipei and Kyrgyzstan have now been identified.
Regarding Oman’s goals in the Nations Cup, he said: We are eager to advance to higher stages in the Asian Nations Cup, and our first goal is to pass the group stage, even though we were placed in a difficult group, and it will be difficult to compete with Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Kyrgyzstan. . I do not promise the Omani fans a specific goal in the Asian Nations Cup, but I promise them effort, sincerity and dedication so that the players of this team will do their best and try to reach the highest possible stages.
The Asian Nations Cup will be held on December 22 with the participation of 24 teams hosted by Qatar. The game schedule of the Oman national team is as follows:
* Saudi Arabia – Oman, 26, December 21:00, Khalifa International Stadium
* Oman – Thailand, 1 Bahman, 18:00, Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium
* Kyrgyzstan – Amman, 5 February, 18:30, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium