The dust has finally settled on the group stage of the Asian Cup, and the situation of the round of 16 has also been released. It can be said that the 16 teams basically represent the highest level of Asian football, and the more surprising is Tajikistan, which will qualify for the knockout stage in the Asian Cup for the first time, and Indonesia's ability to advance from the group has also surprised many. And the team that failed to break through from the group, there is nothing to say, it is not as good as others. For example, the national football team was considered to be worry-free in promotion before the game, after all, Lebanon and Tajikistan are both outside the world rankings of 100, but when the game really started, we found that the world ranking, at least here in the national football team, is not allowed. Judging from the game scenes, the national football team is indeed inferior to these two teams. Therefore, the national football team failed to appear in the top 16, although it is a bit regrettable, but it is also reasonable.
In fact, the most regrettable thing about this Asian Cup is that there is another team. Before the game, this team was generally favored and was considered to be the potential dark horse of this tournament. From this point of view, their situation is a bit like the national football team. At least in terms of performance, they are second in the group, and it should be no problem to advance. In the first game, they faced the strongest opponent in the same group, and the first 80 minutes once showed us the script of the dark horse, but what happened afterwards made them fail. And in the next two games, the performance of this team was as disappointing as the national football team. In the end, their results were the same as those of the national football team.
Oman.
Remember Oman's opening game against Saudi Arabia when Oman won a penalty shortly after the game began, and they seized their chance to take a 1-0 lead. It's a dream start, given that they are playing against one of the strongest teams in Asia. For the next few minutes, Oman stubbornly resisted the Saudi attack, leaving the Saudis at a loss. Seeing that this game is about to cause an upset, Oman will get the highest three points in this group. However, in the 78th minute, Saudi Arabia equalized the score, and then scored another goal in stoppage time to complete the reversal 2:1. Oman's hopes for an upset were frustrated.
Losing to Saudi Arabia in the first game is nothing, after all, Saudi Arabia is a strong team. As long as Oman can win the next two games, they can still easily qualify. But who would have thought that Oman would not be able to win against Thailand, nor would it be able to win against Kyrgyzstan. It can be said that the script that Oman got is basically the same as the national football team, but the order is a bit reversed. With 2 draws and 1 loss, Oman and the national football team had the same results, both of which became the third place in the two groups with the worst results. A little better than the national team, Oman finally got on the scoresheet.
In fact, Oman is favored to become a dark horse for a reason. Omani football has improved rapidly in recent years, reaching the round of 12 in the last World Cup and beating Japan on the road. In the current Asian football, Oman can be regarded as a second-rate level, and after the expansion, Oman is capable of entering the World Cup. And in this Asian Cup, Oman's grouping is actually ideal, in addition to Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan are below them. But Oman himself didn't play well, and he can't blame others.
To be honest, the absence of Oman's name in the round of 16 is indeed surprising, even more surprising than the absence of the national football team. Oman is definitely the most regrettable team in this Asian Cup.