World Cup Asian qualifiers: ‘big coach’ Carlos Queiroz backed to lead Oman to first finals
Omanis to tackle latest round under former Real Madrid manager; ex-China coach Fabio Cannavaro will take Uzbekistan to next year’s event
Oman striker Muhsen Al-Ghassani has backed former Real Madrid coach Carlos Queiroz to lead the Gulf state to their first-ever World Cup as the country prepares for the next phase of Asia’s preliminaries for the 2026 finals.
The Omanis take on Qatar in Group A of the fourth round of the continent’s qualifiers in Doha on Wednesday before facing off against the United Arab Emirates three days later in the battle for one of Asia’s two remaining World Cup slots.
The group winners will join Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, Uzbekistan and Jordan in securing a ticket for the finals at the first 48-team finals, which will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Al-Ghassani has backed the wily Queiroz – who is attempting to book his fifth World Cup appearance after featuring three times with Iran and once with his native Portugal – to make a difference.
“He’s a big coach, he has experience,” Al-Ghassani said of Queiroz, who also had two spells as Alex Ferguson’s assistant manager at English Premier League club Manchester United.
“He’s worked with us for about three months and he’s worked well and he’s helping us to go to the World Cup, hopefully.”