Fresh from an impressive victory over Singapore, India will be hoping to take the fight to highly rated Oman in the Asia Zone Group 3 World Cup qualifying league match at the Jawaharlal Nehru International stadium in Kochi on Wednesday.
The Indians, playing in front of their home crowd will have to put in that extra effort if they want to contain their rivals, who had put up a brilliant performance in their earlier qualifying match against favourites Japan before going down by a solitary goal in the last 30 seconds of the game.
The young Oman side, with an average age of 20, is miles ahead of India in the FIFA world rankings and had recently held strong Saudi Arabia to a one-all draw in a pre-Olympic qualifying match.
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The worrying factor for India is the absence of mid-fielders Samir Naik and Tomba Singh, who was named the AIFF 'player of the year' just weeks ago, due to injuries.
However, first choice goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee has recovered from a sprained neck and is available for selection.
India coach Stephen Constantine said, "Samir's absence is a big loss. But it gives opportunity for up and coming players to take advantage of the situation."
India are banking on their key striker, captain Baichung Bhutia, and hoping the other forwards, young Ashim Biswas and Abhishek Yadav, provide him the necessary support.
A strong mid-field, comprising Jo Paul Ancheri, S Venkatesh and Renedy Singh, the hero of the match against Singapore, is capable of creating some brilliant moves and controlling the speed of the game and the coach is hoping it will play to its potential.
"We are here to play a good and fair game. Both India and Oman are good teams and we can expect a good match tomorrow," Oman team manager Juma Khamis Al Kaabi told reporters after
his team had their first practice session in Kochi.
Teams:
India: Baichung Bhutia (captain), Sangram Mukherjee, Prasanta Dora, Deepak Kumar Mondal, Suresh Muttath, Debjit Ghosh, Satish Kumar Bharti, Mahesh Gawli, Lukram James Singh, Jatin Singh Bisht, Potsangbam Renedy Singh, Krishna Nair Ajayan, Alvito Rolando Correia D'Cunha, Climax Lawrence, Jo Paul Ancheri, Ashim Biswas, Abhishek Yadav and Venkatesh Shanmugam.
Oman: Mohammed Rabia Jamaan Al Noobi (capt), Ahmed Rashid Said Al Khatri, Ahmed Salim Ahmed Bait Said, Hassan Yousuf Madhafar Al Gheilani, Hamdi Hubais Sher Jandal, Ahmed Hadid Thuwaini Al Mukhaini, Fouzi Bashir Rajab Bait Doorbeen, Bader Mubarak Saleh Al Maimani, Khalifa Ayil Salim Al Naufali, Amad Ali Sulaiman Al Hosni, Mohamed Mubrarak Suwaid Al Hinai, Hashim Saleh Mohamed Al Balushi, Ahmed Mubarak Obaid Al Mahaijri, Jamal Nabi Bakshsh Dawood Al Balushi, Sulta Mohammed Said Al Touqi, Nabil Ashoor R Bait Faraj Allah, Said Al Shoon Suwailem, Ali Talib Salman Al Aimi and Ayiman Suroor Marhoon Al Maawali.
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