Looking to keep their outside chance of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup alive, Oman will take on fellow Group B side Vietnam on Tuesday evening.
Oman picked up an impressive 1-0 win over Asian giants Japan in the previous international break, in what was their first victory in third-round qualifying since November 2011.
Match preview
Neither side have ever qualified for a World Cup finals and despite progressing through to the final stage of qualification, it seems unlikely either of the two will be present in Qatar next winter.
For Vietnam, this already represents their longest stint in Asian World Cup qualification, having made it to the third round after finishing second in their initial group.
Seeing off similar-ranked sides like Malaysia and Indonesia to progress, Vietnam had topped Group G heading into the final match, but were beaten by the slender margin of 3-2 to eventual winners the United Arab Emirates.
Still, their performances in the second round did take them into unchartered territory, but Park Hang-seo's side have been unable to make a real impact so far in the third stage of Asian qualification and currently sit bottom of the group.
Losing their opening two matches in last month's international break, Vietnam were dealt an unruly fixture list, having been forced to face both of Group B's big guns in Saudi Arabia and Australia straight off the bat.
However, Vietnam were able to push the pair close, leading against Saudi Arabia before being pegged back and losing 3-1, whilst favourites Australia were only capable of a 1-0 win in Hanoi.
Their luck was once again out in the most recent qualifier against China, with Vietnam coming from 2-0 down late on to snatch what they thought was their first-ever point in round three qualification, only for Wu Lei to pop up in the 95th minute to secure the win for the hosts.
Similarly, nothing much was expected of Oman when they too were drawn into a group with three World Cup regulars, yet the nation from the West of Asia stunned six-time qualifiers Japan in the opening match of round-three.
A late Issam Al Sabhi strike secured their first ever win against the Samurai Blue in 13 attempts, yet they have been unable to build on their impressive start, picking up zero points from a possible six.
Defeat to Australia in their first match of the international break means Branko Ivankovic's men will enter the match against Vietnam outside of the playoff spot, leaving them with work to do if they are to achieve their goal of qualification.
Granted, matches against Vietnam are not going to decide their fate, but a victory against the bottom-placed side is a likely scenario for Oman, who are yet to concede a goal against the Golden Star Warriors in their two previous meetings.
Both games came during qualification for the 2004 Asian Cup, with Oman winning their two encounters by an aggregate score of 8-0, and whilst it is fair to say Vietnamese football is on the rise, a similar thrashing could be on its way this week.
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Team News
Former Wigan Athletic man Ali Al Habsi may be the nation's most recognisable goalkeeping name, yet it is not for the want of Faiz Al-Rushaidi trying, who has amassed 52 caps as the Omani man between the sticks.
The 33-year-old will be on the lookout for his second clean sheet of qualification and should be joined by defensive duo Mohammed Al-Maslami and Ahmed Mohammed Khalfan Al Khamisi, who impressed in their performance on Thursday night against Australia.
No Omani in the current squad has netted more senior goals for the national team than Abdul Aziz Al-Muqbali, yet now in the twilight of his career, the 32-year-old has been used sparingly by Ivankovic.
Coming off the bench to win his 88th cap against the Socceroos, the 32-year-old may be handed the opportunity to add to his 30 international goals against Vietnam.
Should Al-Muqbali be brought back into the starting 11, he will have to dislodge Rabia Al-Alawi, who scored Oman's only goal in their defeat to Australia, adding to his previous four goals at this level.
With 53 international caps to his name, Que Ngoc Hai remains the most experienced player in the Vietnam squad and the right-back turned centre-back will marshal an under-fire Golden Star Warriors defence against Oman.
Having been sent off in their defeat against Saudi Arabia during the previous international break, Do Duy Manh missed the defeat to Australia, but returned to the side for the match against China and is expected to be alongside Ngoc Hai in defence.
A goalscorer in that loss against China, Nguyen Tien Linh will be keen to add to six goals across all rounds of World Cup qualification when he leads the line against Oman.
Oman possible starting lineup:
Al-Rushaidi; Gheilani, Al-Khamisi, Al-Musalami, Al-Busaidi; Al-Saadi, Al-Aghbari, Fawaz; Al-Yahyaei, Al-Alawi, Al-Hajri
Vietnam possible starting lineup:
Bui; Vu, Do, Que, Bui, Nguyen Phong; Q. Nguyen, T. Nguyen, H. Nguyen, Van Duc, L. Nguyen
We say: Oman 2-0 Vietnam
Vietnam's rise as a footballing nation has captured the imagination of the football world, yet it does feel as if this is the celling for the South-East Asian nation and another defeat looks the most likely result in this one.
For Oman, the likely victory will maintain their slim chances of sneaking into a playoff spot and in turn their maiden World Cup finals appearance.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Vietnam win with a probability of 38.25%. A win for Oman had a probability of 37.5% and a draw had a probability of 24.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Vietnam win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.45%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.47%) and 0-2 (5.65%). The likeliest Oman win was 2-1 (8.35%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.17%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 4.2% likelihood.
