Oman vs Germany

World Cup title hopefuls Germany head to the Sultan Qaboos Sport Complex in Muscat to encounter Asian minnows Oman.

Oman’s wait for their first-ever appearance at the World Cup final has been extended for another four years, courtesy of a morale-damaging fourth-place finish in Asian qualifying Group B. One point adrift of the inter-confederation playoff berth, Branko Ivankovic’s men had to watch third-placed Australia ousting Peru en route to Qatar. Jordan took advantage of Oman’s troublesome patch last time out, defeating them 1-0 to end the ‘Reds’ decent six-game unbeaten run (W3, D3). But a low-scoring theme continues to be a common denominator in Oman’s international assignments, with their last seven outings featuring under 2.5 goals. They wouldn’t mind another cagey affair against one of the world’s best teams, and an impressive return of five clean sheets from their last six games sounds promising.

On the other hand, Germany kept their 100% success rate in the World Cup qualifiers intact by finishing top of Group J with 27 out of the 30 available points to their name (W9, L1). However, that seems to have tucked Hansi Flick’s side into the realm of complacency, with ‘Die Mannschaft’ picking up just two wins from eight internationals after completing another resounding World Cup qualifying journey (D5, L1). Despite keeping hold of their UEFA Nations League A status by the skin of their teeth, sending England packing, the Germans experienced a thoroughly underwhelming 2022/23 Group A/3 campaign (W1, D4, L1). They at least bounced back from a shock 1-0 home loss to Hungary by drawing 3-3 with England at Wembley Stadium despite harbouring a two-goal lead midway through the second half.