Oman's World Cup hopes remain alive as they hold Palestine to reach playoffs
Muscat: A ten-man Oman's booked their spot in the playoffs of the AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to 26 Group B as they scraped to a 1-1 draw against Palestine at the King Abdullah Stadium in Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday night.
Issam Al Subhi converted a penalty in the injury time to earn a much needed single point to help them reach the fourth round along with Iraq after trailing Palestine for most part of second half.
Earlier, Oday Kharoub's powerful header in the 49th minute got Palestine the lead but a never-say-die spirit of Rasheed Jaber-coached Red Warriors' earned them a playoff spot.
With thr draw Oman finished with 11 points while Palestine ended with 10 points.
Oman went into the match, needing just a draw to advance into the playoffs, thus ended their campaign with 11 points.
South Korea (22 points) and Jordan (16) booked direct spots for the 2026 FIFA World Cup from Group B while Iraq (15) and Oman advanced to the playoffs as third and fourth placed teams from the group.
For Oman, it was a memorable comeback defeat after they lost 3-0 to Jordan at home last week.
Oman escaped an early scare when a header from Palestine player hit the woodwork in the fourth minute of the match.
Munther Al Alawi of Oman had the best chance in the first half as he darted into the box dangerously only to find a defender make a last minute save.
Both the teams failed to find the target till thr break but Palestine broke the deadlock soon after resumption when off a corner kick, Kharoub's header beat the Oman defence and goalkeeper Faiz Al Rusheidi.
Oman tried hard to find the much-needed equaliser but their efforts suffered a blow in the 73rd minute when the experienced midfielder Harib Al Saadi was given marching orders by the Iranian referee for a tackle that earned him his second yellow card.
Down by a man, Oman continued to put pressure on Palestine but the equaliser remained elusive till the last minute of the injury time when they earned a spot kick after Oman's Mohsin Al Ghassani was brought down inside the box by Palestine's Ahmad Taha.
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