‘Courageous’ Lopez Caro expects Oman grab full points from Guam
Lopez Caro said that the team and he, who by now are comfortable with each other, are looking forward for the Guam match
MUSCAT: Undeterred by the flak he received for dropping seasoned campaigners, including star striker Imad Al Hosni, coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro is confident of Oman wining full points against Guam on Thursday.
The Group D match of the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup joint qualifiers, scheduled to be played at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex from 7.00 p.m., is Oman’s first competitive outing under Lopez Caro and is crucial to team’s chances of progressing further in the World Cup qualifying campaign.
With two matchdays left in the group, Oman with 11 points are in second place behind table toppers Iran (14 points), who host bottom placed India on Thursday.
The group toppers along with the four best runners-up from eight groups will advance to the third round of World Cup qualification as well as qualify for the 2019 Asian Cup finals.
Lopez Caro, who took over the reins of the team after the Oman Football Association (OFA) sacked Frenchman Paul Le Guen following a disappointing results in the earlier matches, courted controversy when he announced his list of 26 probables ahead of the Guam match.
The Spaniard, who had coached Real Madrid as well as Saudi Arabian national team in the past, preferred a number of new faces ignoring stalwarts like Imad, Saad Suhail, Mohammed She’eba, Eid Al Farsi, Ali Al Busaidi and Al Abd Al Nofli, leading to criticism from all quarters.
However, Lopez Caro, speaking at the mandatory match-eve press conference at Hotel City Seasons on Wednesday, justified his decision to drop the old guard and to pick the young blood.
“Sometimes you have to take courageous decisions. I took these decisions for the good of the team. After watching some domestic matches, I found some players who I thought will add value to the team. So I picked them because they deserve to be in the team.”
“Now it is up to those players to play like professionals and prove their worth,” he added. them represent the country.”
Lopez Caro picked a number of new faces including Mohammed Al Rawahi of Al Nahda, Fanja’s Khalid Al Yaqoobi, Muscat’s Mohammed Al Amri and Mohammed Al Habsi, Suwaiq’s Harib Al Saadi, Seeb’s Omar Al Malki and Salah Al Yahyai and Al Khabourah’s Mohsin Al Ghassani.
Asked whether he will be comfortable with the new defenders operating in front of him, Ali said: “I trust the coach and his selection of players. With 14 years of experience behind me, it’s my responsibility to support the new players.” teams like Turkmenistan and India while also holding Oman to a goalless draw at home.
However, in their last outing, at home, they were routed by a 6-0 margin by group leaders Iran.