Oman beat Iraq 1-0 to boost Brazil dreams

Posted Wednesday, June 05, 2013 by YAHOO Sport

June 4 (Reuters) - Oman brightened their prospects of a maiden World Cup finals appearance with a 1-0 win over Iraq in a qualifier in Muscat on Tuesday.

Ismail Al Ajmi headed in a corner on the stroke of half-time and Oman's tight defence denied Iraq a goal in the second half to keep them at the bottom of Group B with five points from six matches.

Oman pocketed three points, much to the delight of their fans at Muscat's Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, to jump to second position in the group with one more match to play against Jordan.

Asian champions Japan, who earlier on Tuesday became the first side to qualify for next year's finals in Brazil, lead the group with 13 points, followed by Oman on nine.
Australia moved above Jordan on goal difference with both sides on seven points and having played one game fewer. The top two teams from the group qualify directly for the finals.

On a hot and humid day in Muscat that necessitated occasional drinks breaks for the players, both goalkeepers had a quiet first 30 minutes as neither Oman nor Iraq could create scoring opportunities.

Iraq finally managed to put together a couple of attacks but neither yielded the elusive goal.

Ali Adnan's clumsy effort from the touchline sailed over the bar while captain Younis Mahmoud got a long pass inside the box but could not dodge past the only defender between him and the goalkeeper.

Oman woke up after the half-hour mark but striker Abdul Aziz Mubarak's spectacular overhead kick from 16 metres sailed over the bar.

Iraq stepped up their attack too and an unmarked Alaa Abdul Zahra got a long cross inside the box but Raed Saleh, who shone in the Oman defence, cleared the ball.

Before they could catch their breath, Oman's defence was shaken by Saif Salman's effort from 25 metres which narrowly missed the target.

Oman nearly doubled their lead in the 68th minute but Al Ajmi's low shot was blocked by Iraqi goalkeeper Noor Sabri.

Substitute Mustafa Kareem squandered Iraq's final chance of an equaliser in injury time when he shot straight to Oman goalkeeper Faiyz Al Rusheidi from close quarters.