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Now anything is possible: Oman coach

Abu Dhabi - 'Historic achievement was a time to rejoice for everyone'

Oman coach Pim Verbeek said 3-1 win over Turkmenistan and historic entry into the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 has showed that young 'Reds' were ready for any team in the tournament. Oman had lost previous matches to Japan and Uzbekistan and needed a win to qualify for the next round.
"I am proud of everyone. We played well in the first-half. But we have to learn how to be focused. We lost our concentration and conceded a goal. In the second half, they had nine men inside the box. So we tried our Plan B, i.e., to put the ball into the box and scored two late goals," he said referring to how wingers crossed the ball from either sides and led to chances.
The coach said the historic achievement was a time to rejoice for everyone.
"We had a tough group and for the first time-ever Oman is into the next round. Our fans support was unbelievable. We made them happy. Now anything is possible. The players had to do their job and they did. We deserve to win this game. We want to celebrate this victory. For me it doesn't matter which team we play next."
Verbeek said the players need to rest as the next knockout match could be in few days.
"This game has consumed lot of energy. We look to recover and be competitive. We are proud and happy. It was good match for everyone."
Meanwhile, Turkmenistan coach Yazguly Hojageldyyew acknowledged that the team lacked bite in attack.
"We had lack of experience. We will improve from this tournament.  We played to score and win. At the end we lacked a bit of concentration. We tried to up the tempo in the second half and unsettle them but it didn't work out. We didn't posses many attackers to convert half chances," Hojageldyyew added.