Oman will take on African powerhouse Algeria in the Qatari capital of Doha on March 30 in an international football friendly as part of preparations for the second round of the 2018 World Cup's Asian leg qualifiers, which will begin in June.
For coach Paul Le Guen's boys, the trip to Doha will be preceded by a home friendly against Malaysia at the Seeb Sports Stadium on March 26.
With the Oman Football Association (OFA) postponing round 18 of the Omantel Professional League (OPL), which was originally scheduled for March 19-21, Le Guen wants to capitalise on the time available. The Frenchman has called for a national team camp starting on March 20 to shape up for the friendlies against Malaysia and Algeria.
In the Asian leg qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, eight groups of five teams each play off in a round-robin format, which also acts as a qualifying competition for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
The eight group toppers and four top runner-up teams will progress to the final round of qualifying for the World Cup in Russia, apart from straightaway securing berths in the 2019 Asian Cup.
The draw of the second round qualifiers will be held on April 14 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The OPL's 18th round was called off as the OFA will have its hands full while hosting of the AFC U23 Championship Group A qualifiers in Muscat from March 23-31.
The preparations for the AFC U23 qualifiers are complete with Sheikh Shabib al Hosni, the chief of the OFA's organising committee, saying, “We are ready to host the event and look forward to some exciting matches.”
Besides Oman, the other teams in the group are defending champion Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon and Maldives.
The national U23 team is presently training in Dubai, UAE as part of its preparations for the event. Oman will play Saudi Arabia and UAE in friendlies in Dubai before returning to Muscat on March 20.
