Oman Draws with Australia, Keeping Them Away from Saudi Arabia

Abdullah Fawaz scored a penalty goal in the penultimate minute to equalize for his country’s team, Oman, 2-2 with Australia in the eighth round of Group B in the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Muscat on Tuesday. Jamie Maclaren opened the scoring for Australia with a penalty in the 15th minute, before Fawaz equalized for the hosts in the 54th minute with a stunning shot from outside the penalty area. Aaron Mooy restored Australia’s lead in the 79th minute with a shot from the edge of the penalty area, before Fawaz equalized for Oman a second time via a penalty. Craig Goodwin missed a chance to win for the visiting team when he shot into the side netting in the third minute of stoppage time while he was in front of the goal. Australia’s points rose to 15, sitting in third place, four points away from the leaders Saudi Arabia and three points ahead of second-placed Japan with two rounds remaining. Oman lost all hope of qualifying for the World Cup finals, remaining in fourth place with eight points. China and Vietnam occupy the fifth and last positions with five and three points, respectively. The top two teams from Groups A and B qualify directly for the finals in Qatar, while the third-place teams will meet in an Asian playoff to determine which team will qualify for the intercontinental playoff. The ninth round of matches in the group will take place on March 24, with China facing Saudi Arabia, Australia facing Japan, and Vietnam facing Oman.