Oman will take on Qatar in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday, 8 October, with time running out for both teams to secure their places at the finals next summer.
The match is the first one to take place in Group A in the fourth round of AFC qualifying. The two nations will compete alongside the UAE for an automatic qualifying spot for the World Cup.
All three teams will face each other once, making all matches, including this one, gigantic.
How the bookies view it: Qatar are the favourties
The bookies are leaning towards a Qatar victory on Wednesday, which was to be expected given there are 25 spaces between them in the FIFA World Rankings. BoyleSports have priced a Qatar victory at 4/7, while a win for Oman has been priced as long as 9/2, which is excellent value.
Head to head: Advantage Qatar
Qatar have the better fo the recent head-to-head, winning three of their last four matches against Oman. It isn't all bad news for Oman, though, as they did come out on top in the most recent clash, which took place in December 2024. On that occasion, Oman ran out as 2-1 winners.
Players to watch: Battle of the forwards
The outcome of this match could quite simply be settled by which of the two star forwards on show turn up for their nation.
For Oman, the pressure is on Issam Al Sabhi, who was at his very best on his last outing against Qatar. The 28-year-old scored both goals as he helped his team to a 2-1 victory, a match they started as underdogs. If he can play in a similar way on Wednesday, then it will be a long evening for the Qatari defence.
For Qatar, the main player at the top of the pitch is Almoez Ali. The 29-year-old has been on fire throughout his country's World Cup qualifying campaign and is deserving of a place in the finals last summer.
Ali is averaging a goal a game over his last 12 appearances in World Cup qualifiers for Qatar, and if he can continue at that rate over the next couple of games, then he has an excellent chance to fire his country to the World Cup next summer.
Neither of these teams are particularly well set up defensively, so both goalkeepers should be busy.
Predicted line-ups
Carlos Queiroz could make a couple of tweaks for his first match in charge of Oman, but the former Iran boss hasn't picked many new faces for his squad. Qatar are dealing with a couple of injuries, so we won't see Ismail Mohamed or Salah Zakaria take to the field this week.
Oman: Provedel – Marusic, Gila, Romagnoli, Tavares – Cataldi, Guendouzi, Dele-Bashiru – Cancellieri, Castellanos, Zaccagni
Qatar: Svilar – Celik, Mancini, Ndicka – Rensch, Cristante, Kone, Angelino – Soule, El Shaarawy, Ferguson
Anything else catch the eye?
Oman have frequently been involved in end-to-end matches in recent times and although Queiroz has been appointed to try and tighten things up, it would be a miracle if he manages to sort that out via one week of training. Both teams to score has been priced at 6/5 by Boylesports.
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