FACTBOX-Soccer-Profile on Oman team for 2015 Asian Cup
Jan 1 (Reuters) - Factbox on Asian Cup qualifiers Oman. Asian Cup record: Previous appearances in finals: (2) 2004, 2007. Best performance: Group stage (2004, 2007) Drawn in Group A with Australia, South Korea and Kuwait. - - - Coach: Paul Le Guen. The former France international defender enjoyed a solid playing career, highlighted by domestic league and cup honours at Paris St Germain and success on the continent with a Cup Winners's Cup victory at the same club in 1996. His first foray into management was at Rennes before he led Lyon to three consecutive Ligue 1 titles from the 2002-03 season. After a short and unsuccessful stint at Glasgow Rangers, he returned to France to manage PSG, where he picked up another trophy when he guided them to League Cup success in 2008. Le Guen then moved on to international management, guiding Cameroon to the 2010 World Cup finals before joining Oman a year later. The side narrowly missed out on a playoff for the 2014 World Cup finals, losing to Jordan in the final group game, but qualified for the Asian Cup undefeated. - - - Key player: Ali Al-Habsi. Age: 32. Goalkeeper. Oman captain Al-Habsi left local side Al-Nasr in 2003 to sign for Lyn Oslo in Norway, making him the first Omani to play club football in Europe. After moving to Bolton Wanderers in 2006, he joined current club Wigan Athletic in 2011, where he was their regular first choice goalkeeper until they were relegated from the Premier League two seasons ago. Has battled injury in the last two seasons but declared himself fit for the Asian Cup, where, as Oman's highest-profile player, he will need to be at his best if the Red Warriors are to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament for a first time. - - - FIFA world ranking Dec. 2014: 93 How they qualified: Group A winners on 14 points ahead of Jordan after going undefeated through qualifying with four wins and two draws. Syria and Singapore were the other teams in the group. Squad: Goalkeepers: Ali Al-Habsi, Mazin Al-Kasbi, Mohannad Al-Zaabi Defenders: Abdul Salam Amour, Mohammed Al-Mussallami, Saad Suhail, Jaber Al-Owaisi, Ahmed Saleem, Nasser Al-Shimli, Ali Al- Busaidi, Ali Salim Al-Nahar Midfielders: Ahmed Mubarak Al-Mahajiri, Eid Al-Farsi, Raeed Ibrahim Saleh, Ali Al-Jabri, Hassan Mudhaffar, Mohsin Jawhar Forwards: Amad Al-Hosni, Mohammed Al-Siyabi, Abdulaziz Al-Miqbali, Said Al-Ruzaiqi, Yaqoob Abdul-Karim, Qasim Said (Compiled by John O'Brien; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
