Iraq and Oman will kick off their third-round bids in Asian World Cup 2026 Qualifying on Thursday, when they square off in Basra.
The two nations both progressed through their second-round groups in dominant fashion, with the hosts boasting a perfect record to book their place in this stage.
Match preview
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Iraq will return to action on Thursday with the aim of strengthening their bid to reach a second-ever World Cup and a first since 1986 in their first third-round outing.
After falling short at this stage for the 2022 competition in Qatar, the Usood al-Rafidayn kicked off their latest bid in the second round and dominated Group F, finishing top with a perfect record having opened up with 5-1 and 1-0 victories over Indonesia and Vietnam respectively.
Then following an AFC Asian Cup campaign which ended with a round-of-16 defeat to Jordan, Jesus Casas's team returned to qualifying in March with 1-0 and 5-0 triumphs in a pair of meetings with the Philippines, and they would only strengthen their standing in the final two outings in June, completing doubles over Indonesia and Vietnam.
After beating the former 2-0 on their travels, the Usood al-Rafidayn most recently hosted Vietnam for their final contest with a third-round spot already secured and ended on a high, completing a perfect record with a 3-1 victory in Basra courtesy of goals from Hussein Ali, Ali Jasim and Aymen Hussein.
Now heading back into action having won seven of their last eight competitive outings since mid-January, Iraq will aim to pick up where they left off in World Cup qualifying and kick off their third-round bid with a home victory on Thursday before visiting Kuwait next week.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, will also bid to make a fast start in their third-round group after a pleasing start to their latest qualifying bid, as Oman continue their search for a first-ever World Cup group-stage appearance.
After progressing to this stage in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup and only missing out on progressing to the final round by a single point, they again cruised through the second round in their latest bid, topping their group with 13 points.
That campaign included a change in management, as Jaroslav Silhavy took over in February following their AFC Asian Cup group exit, and after taking over with Oman sat on three points from two games, he would inspire three victories in his first three games at the helm, as Oman picked up back-to-back 2-0 wins over Malaysia and a 3-0 triumph away at Chinese Taipei.
A final-round meeting with second-placed Kyrgyzstan then followed in June and Silhavy's team kept hold of top spot by finishing with a 1-1 draw in Muscat, having initially fallen behind in the first half before an Erzhan Tokotayev own goal levelled the scores on the hour mark.
With plenty of confidence to take from a near-perfect start to life under their new boss, culminating in a first-placed finish in the last round, Oman will now bid to go one better than their last qualifying effort in this year's third round, starting with what would be a crucial away win on Thursday.
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Jesus Casas should field a similar Iraq starting XI to their final second-round group outing in June, although Aymen Hussein will hope to come back in and lead the line from the outset after notching up his 27th international goal off the bench in their 3-1 win over Vietnam.
Ipswich Town's Ali Al-Hamadi will also fight for an attacking spot, while Mohanad Ali will likely keep his place up top having managed 20 goals of his own for the Usood al-Rafidayn.
Amjad Attwan, whose tally of 77 caps is only second in this Iraq squad to goalkeeper Jalal Hassan's 83, will also compete to come in from the outset after Youssef Amyn, Amir Al-Ammari and Osama Rashid lined up in the centre against Vietnam, while Zaid Tahseen and Rebin Sulaka should continue their partnership in the middle of the defence.
Oman should also line up in a similar way to their last second-round fixture, with Muhsen Al-Ghassani bound to again lead the attack, having notched up 12 goals in his 57 international caps thus far.
Issam Al-Sabhi, who has netted 11 goals of his own for his nation, will play a key role in support, likely alongside Salaah Al-Yahyaei and Abdulrahman Al-Mushaifri.
Veteran Harib Al-Saadi remains a mainstay in the midfield, having now earned 93 caps for his country, and Arshad Al Alawi should again join him in the centre of their 4-2-3-1 setup, while centre-back Mohammed Al-Musalami leads the squad with 114 caps to his name.
Iraq possible starting lineup:
Hassan; H Ali, Tahseen, Sulaka, Younis; Amyn, Al-Ammari, Rashid; Hussein, M Ali, Jasim
Oman possible starting lineup:
Al-Mukhaini; Al-Shamousi, Al-Khamisi, Al-Musalami, Al-Busaidi; Al-Saadi, Al Alawi; Al-Sahbi, Al-Yahyaei, Al-Mushaifri; Al-Ghassani
We say: Iraq 2-0 Oman
While both sides showed their quality in the second round of World Cup Qualifying, we see Iraq as the stronger of the two nations and back them to get up and running in the new group with a victory on home soil.
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