AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023/ Saudi Arabia, Oman Aim for Strong Start at Asian Cup

Doha, January 15 (QNA) - Saudi Arabia and Oman aspire to achieve victories at the beginning of their campaign in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023. The two teams will play at Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday as part of the Group F competitions of the tournament that is being hosted by the State of Qatar until Feb. 10. Saudi team are seeking to win their fourth Asian title as they had won the title three times in 1984, 1988 and 1996. In their previous participation, the team played 48 matches, of which they won 21, drew 13 times, and lost 14 matches. The Saudi team prepared for the tournament well and concluded preparations in their last camp in Doha playing more than one test match during which the technical staff included a number of new players while making some technical changes in the wake of the injuries suffered by some of the team players. Coached by Croatian Branko Ivankovic since 2020, Omani team have been seeking an ideal appearance in the tournament in which they succeeded to surpass the group stage for the first time in their history during the last edition in the UAE 2019. Oman played 13 matches in the tournament finals, of which they won 3, drew 1 time, and lost 7 matches. The Oman team are participating in the Asian Cup finals for the fifth time in their history and the third in a row. The Saudi and Omani teams met in 20 tournaments' matches, where Saudi won 14 matches compared to 4 victories for Oman and they drew in two matches. (QNA)