Le Guen’s Oman respects Iran, ‘but not too much’

Times of Oman – MUSCAT, Reputations are to be respected. But they are to be put aside when it comes to a competition.

That’s the philosophy being advocated by Oman coach Paul Le Guen as his wards gear up to take on formidable Iran in a crucial World Cup/Asian Cup qualifier on Thursday.

With both the hosts and the visitors on same seven points from three matches, the outcome of the Group D match, to be played at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex from 6.30pm, will decide who will be in pole position to seal a direct entry into the 2019 Asian Cup and a place in the final round of the 2018 World Cup.

Even as his counterpart Carlos Queiroz is speaking about the time to end a 14-year drought against Oman, Le Guen wants his boys to forget all the hype about their rivals’ reputation and ‘focus on their own game’ in the crucial clash.

Much has been spoken and written about the gulf between the two teams, their experience, the quality of players and even the rankings — remember Oman are at 102 on FIFA ladder while Iran are far ahead of them at 39th place.

“We respect Iran. But not too much,” Le Guen said speaking during the match-eve press conference at City Seasons Hotel on Wednesday.

The Frenchman said: “We know the situation. And we also know the quality of our opposition.

“Iran is an experienced side. They are a big team. We respect them.”

However, indicating that Oman should be giving ‘not too much respect’, Le Guen added: “We have to be ourselves. Once we enter the field, we have to focus on our game. We will have to give our best.”

Terming the match as a ‘massive game’, Le Guen said: “It is going to be a difficult match. Considering the situation of the group and the quality of the opposition, it is great to be playing this kind of match. And that too in Muscat, in front of our home fans.”

“As I said we have to give our best on the field tomorrow in order to get good results,” he added.

Lack of firepower

Le Guen has for long been complaining about lack of firepower at his disposal and that has been even more complicated by the absence of star striker Abdulaziz Al Maqbali, who is away in South Korea representing the Sultanate at the Military World Games.

That has left the Frenchman with one proven striker in the form veteran forward Imad Al Hosni.

And that for very reason, Le Guen may also rely more on young Saud Al Farsi.

When queried about the selection of Saud and the possibility of fielding the Sur striker, Le Guen said: “Ideally I would like to have Abdulaziz (Al Maqbali) playing in the qualifier. Now we have just Imad’s (Al Hosni) experience. We don’t have many strikers. So why not Saud?”

“I have been trying to resolve this issue. But there are no miracle solutions in football. I will be ‘chatting’ with the strikers and prepare them for tomorrow’s difficult outing,” he added.

Le Guen, however, will be assured of solidity in the other departments, especially in the goal which will be manned by Omani captain Ali Al Habsi.

Then the experience of players like Saad Suhail, Mohammed Sheiba, Jaber Al Owaisi, Ahmed Mubarak ‘Kanu’, Ali Al Jabri, Eid Al Farsi, Raed Ibrahim Al Haikal and Qasim Said will come in handy if Oman hope to upset the Iranians.

Intense match

Carlos Queiroz, meanwhile, is expecting an intense match in which his team will hope to achieve a ‘positive result’ for the first time in 14 years against Oman.

Iran’s victory over Oman, a 5-2 verdict, came way back in 2001 at LG Cup in Iran.

Though their Portuguese coach is talking about lack of a ‘positive result’ for 14 years, if one goes by the statistics available on the internet, the teams met just three times in the intervening years – the last outing was a friendly encounter played in Muscat in 2013 which the hosts won by a 3-1 margin.

The other two ended in 2-2 draws in 2004 Asian Cup and 2010 WAFF Championship.

Queiroz is hoping his team will change that trend on Thursday.

“For the last 14 years, Iran was not able to produce a positive result against Oman and it’s time to change that record,” he said.

The Portuguese, whose squad trained in the UAE briefly before arriving in Muscat, wants to see his team on top of their game against Oman.

“It is going to be an intense match as both teams will be looking for full points. Oman are a good team and they are being coached by a good coach. I know we are not going to have an easy outing.”

“Obviously we cannot underestimate a team that has players like Abdulaziz (Al Maqbali) and other experienced players,” he said as if to indicate he knows Oman team well enough to chalk out a right strategy.

Queiroz at the same time stressed that the Iranians are here to win full points.

“This match is important as both teams will be looking to grab all the points. Our primary objective is to qualify for the next round. And we are here to make sure that we are on the right path to achieve that,” he said.

Omani forward Imad Al Hosni, meanwhile, hoped the fans will turn up in large numbers at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex and root for their team.

“It’s an important match in the group. We will be giving our best. I wish to see a full house and all the Omanis rooting for us,” he said.

Iran captain Andranic Teymourian promised that his team will play very ‘logical and energetic football’ to achieve the desired result.

“We had good training in the UAE. We are well prepared and ready for Oman match,” he said.

“It’s difficult to predict the result of any football match. But we will surely be playing good ‘forward moving’ and energetic football. Hopefully, we will get good result,” he said.

The Iranian captain and coach also paid tributes to former international forward Hadi Norouzi, who passed at the age of 30 last week due to heart attack.

Both conveyed their condolences to the family of the deceased.

The group winners and four best runners-up will advance to the 2019 Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining 12 slots in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.