Saturday 09 / August / 2025
Muscat: Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz will begin his coaching assignment with the Oman national football team, a move that holds great hope for the team's historic first qualification for the World Cup finals.
The team will play in the fourth round of the qualifiers, which will be held next October. Group A includes Qatar and the UAE, in addition to the Oman national team.
Queiroz is one of the most prominent coaches on the international stage, having coached major national teams such as Portugal, Colombia, Iran, and South Africa, in addition to serving as assistant to legendary Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and coaching Real Madrid.
Sports analyst Hilal bin Salem Al-Mukhaini said: "There is no disagreement about the distinguished resume of coach Carlos Queiroz. He is a big name in the world of coaching, and possesses extensive and diverse experience with international teams. From this perspective, I see signing him as an important step for the national team, provided that this step is supported by hard work and sufficient time for the coach to implement his technical ideas."
In a statement to the Oman News Agency, he indicated that there are some reservations regarding the future work programme that the coach will present. Despite his extensive experience, Queiroz has not always achieved the desired goals in some of his previous positions. Although he led the Iranian national team to qualify for the World Cup finals twice, this in itself is not a sufficient measure, given that the Iranian team is accustomed to qualifying.
He added that the time remaining before the qualifiers is sufficient for any serious coach to build a comprehensive technical team, especially given Queiroz's solid track record and extensive experience in the qualifiers. "This is an additional strength, especially since he knows the teams we will face in the group and has previously worked in these environments," added.
He explained that there are real challenges, most notably raising the technical and physical level of the players, something that is currently not sufficiently available in our local competitions or in the clubs' training programmes. "Furthermore, the players' response to the coach's ideas must be swift, as time cannot tolerate delay. In this context, I believe that providing high-level international matches will be a decisive factor in helping Queiroz implement his programme and achieve his desired goals."
For his part, former international player Fawzi Bashir said: “The name Carlos Queiroz is well known. He is a great coach with a long and successful experience in leading teams to the World Cup finals, such as the Iranian national team. He is also no stranger to the region, having worked with Gulf clubs and national teams, and this is an important positive factor, especially since we will be playing the play-off against teams from the same environment, which gives him an advantage in knowing the nature of the Gulf player and how to deal with him.”
Bashir added: "Queiroz has a leadership personality and extensive experience in his coaching career, and he is - without a doubt - a qualitative addition to the national team at this stage. I believe that his selection was a good decision by the Oman Football Association, especially since the journey to qualify for the World Cup requires a great deal of integrated work from everyone, whether from the technical, administrative, or media staff, as well as from the fans. The greatest burden will also be on the players, and they undoubtedly realize the extent of the responsibility, and they will be up to the task."
He pointed out that the timing of the appointment was very appropriate, as it provides an opportunity to make up for lost time and prepare well. "We hope that this decision will be a positive turning point in the journey of Omani sports, and that it will contribute to the development of the national team technically, mentally and physically. The presence of Queiroz at the helm of the technical staff will benefit the players from his extensive experience. The main goal is clear, which is to reach the World Cup finals, in addition to developing a number of technical and physical aspects of our football system in general."
Sports journalist Walid bin Zaher Al-Abri explained that the move to hire Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz was necessary in light of the national team's below-optimistic technical and physical performance in its last two matches.
He added: "The national team did not perform at the required level, technically and physically, against middle-ranking teams in Asia, and suffered a 3-0 defeat to Kyrgyzstan, a result that has not happened in the qualifiers since our loss to Qatar in 2001, despite facing major teams such as Iran, South Korea, and Japan."
He praised the move to hire Queiroz, saying: "When we talk about Queiroz, we're talking about a coach with a leadership personality and extensive experience. He has previously led national teams on four different continents, and has also played 36 World Cup qualifiers with Iran. Although his recent experiences with Colombia and Qatar were not successful, his team Egypt reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt, losing on penalties. He also failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup on penalties."
He explained that Queiroz is capable of bringing about a technical shift in the national team, but significant challenges await him, most notably getting to know the players, especially given that the league is suspended and the Omani national team's environment is different from that of previous national teams he has coached, such as Iran, Colombia, and Egypt, which have strong leagues and players who are professionals in Europe.
He noted that the average age of the national team is high, which are challenges Queiroz must address. He also noted that Queiroz's defensive style may not suit Omani players, but play-off matches are won, not played for a draw. He expressed hope that the Central Asian Championship would help shape the starting lineup ahead of the matches against Qatar and the UAE.
National coach Nasser bin Mohammed Al-Hajri said: "The change was inevitable, even though the move carried some risk, especially given that our team's qualification for the play-offs was not convincing from a technical standpoint. We faced great difficulty until the final moments of our last match against Palestine, and qualification was only decided by a penalty kick in stoppage time."
In a statement to the Oman News Agency, he pointed out that the most important question at this stage is: "Is Queiroz the most suitable? In my opinion, yes. He possesses sufficient technical experience and has previously led major teams to the World Cup finals. He also has a good understanding of the nature of the game in the Gulf region, which gives him an advantage, especially since our upcoming play-off matches will be against Qatar and the UAE."
He explained that Queiroz's biggest challenge currently is his lack of familiarity with the players, especially since the league is currently on hiatus, which could make it difficult for him to directly evaluate them. However, the presence of national assistant coach Hamad Al-Azani, who has extensive experience and a thorough knowledge of the players, will be a key factor in facilitating Queiroz's task of selecting the most appropriate lineup during this sensitive phase.
Oman's national team will begin its first match in the fourth round of the qualifiers against Qatar, the host of Group A, on October 8 at Al Thumama Stadium in the Qatari capital, Doha. In the second match, it will face the UAE national team at the same stadium. This will be preceded by a training camp in Turkey, scheduled to start on August 20 and continue until the national team participates in the Central Asian Football Federation Championship, which will be the final preparation stage before the Asian play-offs.
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