MUSCAT : Along with Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic, the Oman football team will depart for the Iraqi city of Basra on Monday for the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup, which will be held in the Iraqi city of Basra from January 6-19. Spirits and confidence are high for Oman as the team gears up to make a move on their third Gulf Cup title. Oman Football Association (OFA) vice-chairman Mohsin Al Masroori will be the leader of the Omani delegation at the Gulf Cup.

Coach Ivankovic has kept the core of the team unchanged since the last year, as he announced Sunday while introducing the 23-member squad. Experienced goalkeeper Faiz Al Rusheidi and defender Mohammed Al Musalami are among the senior squad members, along with a strong roster of younger members led by Salah Al Yahyaei and Al Monther Al Alawi upfront.

The team concluded a week-long camp in Dubai, UAE, where they played two international friendly games against a strong Syrian side and won both matches, with a score of 2-1 and 1-0 respectively. Two-time Gulf Cup champions Oman will begin their campaign against host Iraq in a Group A match on January 6 soon after the opening ceremony. Oman won their maiden Gulf Cup title in Muscat during the 19th edition of the Cup, hosted in January 2009, under coach Claude Le Roy. The second title came during the 23rd edition hosted by Kuwait in 2017 where Oman won against the UAE in the final, under the Dutch coach Pim Verbeek.

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