Oman and Iraq can vault into a top-two position with a victory and some help when the two sides meet in World Cup 2026 qualifying on Tuesday at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
On matchday five of the third round, Iraq claimed a 0-0 draw with Jordan, giving them eight points at this stage, two more than Oman for third in the group, with the latter defeating Palestine 1-0 on Thursday.
Match preview
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They left it late last week, but in the end, Oman collected three valuable points in their quest to make it to the World Cup for the first time.
As things stand, the West Asian side sit fourth in the table but can move into second with a victory, combined with a loss by Jordan, which would temporarily put them in a position to earn an automatic berth in the 2026 finals.
Since Rashid Jaber took charge in September, Oman have got their qualification campaign back on track, winning two of their last three games after losing their opening two encounters in round three.
All of their points at this qualifying stage occurred at home, winning their last two matches in Muscat by a combined margin of 5-0.
In 2022 qualifying, Oman missed out on the fourth round by just a single point, but midway through this third-round cycle, they sit three points above Kuwait for that final spot in round four.
A victory on Tuesday would mark the first time they will have claimed consecutive triumphs since winning three in a row between March and June.
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The Iraqi qualification campaign appears to have hit a minor speed bump after a strong start to the third round of Group B qualifying.
The Lions of Mesopotamia are winless in their last two fixtures after beginning this stage with six points from their opening three contests.
Under Jesus Casas, this team have been incredibly tough to penetrate defensively, conceding the fewest goals in Group B (three).
Their three clean sheets in this round all occurred at home, while they are winless in their last two away contests, including a narrow 3-2 defeat against South Korea on matchday four.
They seem to lack quality and decisiveness in the attacking third, though, scoring a mere four goals in this round, four fewer than Jordan, who are above them on goal difference at +4, while Iraq are at +1.
Iraq are unbeaten in their last three matches across all competitions versus Oman, having defeated them 1-0 at home in the opening game of this round.
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Team News
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There were four newcomers in Oman's starting 11 last Thursday who did not begin their matchday four encounter versus Jordan, including Abdulaziz Al-Shamousi, Ahmed Al-Kaabi, Abdullah Fawaz and Nasser Al-Rawahi.
Issam Al-Sabhi can collect his 50th cap for the national team on Tuesday, while Sultan Al-Marzouq, Mulham Al-Sinaidi, Hussein Al-Shahri, Jacob Wahrez and Ibrahim Al-Rajhi are all looking to make their first international appearances.
Muhsen Al-Ghassani scored seven minutes from the end in their previous encounter, enabling his side to collect all three points against Palestine as Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini made five stops for the clean sheet.
Casas brought in four new faces to the Iraqi opening lineup from matchday four to five, with Ahmed Basil starting in goal, while Manaf Younis, Saad Abdul-Amir and Ali Jasim also earned a spot in the starting 11.
Ali Faez is one appearance away from 50 with the senior squad, while Mohanad Ali can equal Laith Hussein for ninth in all-time goals, with the Al-Shorta striker currently on 20 for the Lions of Mesopotamia.
Basil stopped the four Jordan efforts that he faced to claim a clean sheet last week in place of Jalal Hassan, who conceded three goals in their defeat to South Korea (3-2).
Oman possible starting lineup:
Al-Mukhaini; Al-Shamousi, Al-Khamisi, Al-Musalami, Al-Kaabi; Al-Yahmadi, Al-Saadi, Al-Alawi, Fawaz; Wahrez, Al-Ghassani
Iraq possible starting lineup:
Basil; Saadoon, Younis, Sulaka, Doski; Iqbal, Al-Ammari; Jasim, Yasin, Madjed; Hussein
We say: Oman 0-0 Iraq
The Iraqi defence is rock-solid and more than capable of shutting down Oman, but they do not possess much creativity going forward, so we anticipate a dull affair between these two teams on Tuesday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.