India will play their final international match of 2018 in a friendly against Oman as Sunil Chhetri & Co continue to prepare for the upcoming 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
But the match at Baniyas Stadium in Abu Dhabi will be a behind the closed doors affair as a secretive Indian outfit wanted to keep their tactics close to the heart.
India last played Oman in the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 qualifiers twice, with Oman winning on both occasions. India are riding on a 13-match unbeaten run under Stephen Constantine. But, if the history of the fixture has anything to tell, it will be one huge ask for India.
All You Need To Know About The Match:
Match: India vs Oman, International friendly
Date: December 27
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Baniyas Stadium, Abu Dhabi
There will be no live telecast.
FIFA Rankings as on December 20: Oman- 82 (10th in Asia); India - 97 (15th in Asia)
Head-to-head: Since 2004, India and Oman have faced each five times, with the Middle East country winning all but one match. They played out a 0-0 draw in November 2004.
Likely XIs:
India (4-4-2): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Subhasish Bose, Sandesh Jhingan, Anas Edathodika, Narayan Das; Udanta Singh, Rowllin Borges, Anirudh Thapa, Halicharan Narzary; Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua
Oman (4-2-3-1): Ahmed Faraj Abdulla Al Rawahi; Mohammed Al-Maslami, Ali Salim, Ali Al-Busaidi, Saad Al-Mukhaini; Qasim Said, Ahmed Mubarak Al-Mahaijri; Mohammed Al-Siyabi, Eid Mohammed Al Farsi, Raed Ibrahim Saleh; Abdul Aziz
Squads:
India: GK - Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Arindam Bhattacharya, Vishal Kaith; DF - Pritam Kotal, Sarthak Golui, Sandesh Jhingan, Anas Edathodika, Ranjan Salam, Subhasish Bose, Narayan Das, Lalruatthara; MF - Udanta Kumam, Pronay Halder, Rowllin Borges, Anirudh Thapa, Vinit Rai, Halicharan Narzary, Ashique Kuruniyan, Germanpreet Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Jackichand Telem; FW - Sunil Chhetri (c), Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sumeet Passi, Farukh Choudhary, Balwant Singh, Manvir Singh
Oman: GK - Faiz Al-Rushaidi, Ahmed Al-Rawahi, Ammar Al-Rushaidi; DF - Mohammed Al-Musalami, Mohammed Al-Rawahi, Mohammed Al-Balushi, Saad Al-Mukhaini, Khalid Al-Buraiki, Ali Al-Busaidi; MF - Ahmed Mubarak Al-Mahaijri (c), Raed Ibrahim Saleh, Ali Al-Jabri, Mahmood Al-Mushaifri, Yaseen Al-Sheyadi, Mohsin Al-Khaldi, Jameel Al-Yahmadi, Moataz Saleh, Harib Al-Saadi, Salah Al-Yahyai; FW - Mohammed Al-Ghassani, Khalid Al-Hajri, Mohsin Al-Ghassani, Mohammed Al-Hosni
