Oman national football team

Prior to the newer millennium, Oman generally struggled more in the Gulf Cup, usually finishing in 6th or 7th place even when the cup was held in Oman. It was in 1998 when the national team began to improve its performance and in the 2003 and 2004 Gulf Cups, new talents like Amad Al-Hosni, Ali Al-Habsi, Sultan Al-Touqi, Badr Al-Maimani and Khalifa Ayil may have made the team more successful.

In the 2002 Gulf Cup which was held in Saudi Arabia, Oman had once again finished at 5th place but under the captaincy of Dhofar F.C.'s Hani Al-Dhabit, Oman had accomplished something which was never done before in the team's history in the Gulf Cup, defeating 9-time winners[5] Kuwait. The match had ended 3–1 with captain Hani Al-Dhabit scoring a hat-trick. Hani also netted a goal against Bahrain and a consolation goal in a 2–1 loss against Qatar.[6] At the end of the competition, Hani was the only Omani to score goals and was also awarded the "Top Goalscorer" of the competition with a total of 5 goals.[7]

In the 2004 Gulf Cup which was held in Doha, Oman reached the final for the first time in the team's history which was eventually lost to the hosts Qatar in a penalty shootout after the goalkeeping sensation Ali Al-Habsi missed a penalty. Qatar won the match 6–5 on penalties after the match had ended 1–1 at normal time. Amad Al-Hosni was awarded the "Top Goalscorer" award of the competition with a total of 4 goals.[8]

In the 2007 Gulf Cup which was held in the United Arab Emirates, the national team again reached the final for a second consecutive time and again lost 1–0 to the hosts United Arab Emirates. Although Oman lost to the Emirates in the final, they had maintained an undefeated record throughout the competition excluding the final.[9] Once again Ali Al-Habsi had received the "Best Goalkeeper of the Gulf Cup" award[10] for the third consecutive time in a row, the most won by any goalkeeper in the 40 years of the Gulf Cup tournament. Oman had tied United Arab Emirates in goal-scoring with nine goals each after the competition.[11]

Omani players during 2019 AFC Asian Cup

Eventually after losing twice in the Gulf Cup final consecutively, Oman had managed to win the 2009 Gulf Cup tournament as hosts by defeating Saudi Arabia in a penalty shootout. Oman won the match 6–5 on penalties after the match had ended 0–0 at extra time. Oman maintained a clean-sheet throughout the whole competition.[12] The competition in Muscat was the first for Hassan Rabia, and despite this, he managed to score 4 goals making him receive the "Top Goalscorer" award.[13] Ali Al-Habsi also received his fourth consecutive "Best Goalkeeper Award".[14]

However, Ali Al-Habsi would not go on to feature in the next two Gulf Cup's due to his commitments with his English club team Wigan Athletic F.C. at the time. In the 2010 Gulf Cup which was held in Yemen, Oman drew all the three matches of the group stage against Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Iraq. Oman could manage to score only one goal in the tournament against Bahrain which was scored by Amad Al-Hosni and hence could not go further in the tournament. Following these performances of the team in the regional tournament, the Oman Football Association sacked their then-manager Claude Le Roy on 9 January 2011 who won them their maiden tournament in 2009.

In the 2013 Gulf Cup which was held in Bahrain, Oman could manage to draw only one match against the hosts Bahrain and lost in their other two matches against Qatar and United Arab Emirates. Oman again could score only one goal and this time it was from the spot by Hussain Al-Hadhri in the match against Qatar which Oman eventually lost 2–1.

In the 2017 Gulf Cup which was held in Kuwait, Oman started the tournament with a loss to the United Arab Emirates by one goal from a penalty kick by Ali Mabkhout. Afterwards, Oman won the two remaining matches of the group stage, first against the hosts Kuwait 1–0 with a penalty kick by Ahmed Kano then against Saudi Arabia 2–0. Oman qualified to the semi-final match which was against Bahrain and won it 1–0 with an own goal by the Bahraini Mahdi Abduljabbar. Eventually, and after nine years from its first title, Oman managed to win the tournament for the second time in its history by defeating United Arab Emirates in the final in a penalty shootout. Oman won the match 5–4 on penalties after it had ended 0–0 after extra time. The Omani Ahmed Mubarak Kano was awarded the most valuable player award for his role in the results of the Omani team campaign.

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

• The following players were called up for the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup matches.[27]
• Match dates: 6 – 19 January 2023
• Opposition:  Iraq,  Yemen and  Saudi Arabia
• Caps and goals correct as of: 23 December 2022, after the match against  Syria

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
22	1GK	Ahmed Al-Rawahi	(1994-05-05) 5 May 1994	5	0	Al-Seeb
18	1GK	Faiz Al-Rushaidi	(1988-07-19) 19 July 1988	62	0	Al-Suwaiq
1	1GK	Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini	(1997-06-20) 20 June 1997	8	0	Al-Nahda
2	2DF	Mohammed Al-Musalami	(1990-04-27) 27 April 1990	98	3	Al-Seeb
5	2DF	Juma Al-Habsi	(1996-01-28) 28 January 1996	20	0	Al-Seeb
19	2DF	Mahmood Al-Mushaifri	(1993-01-14) 14 January 1993	21	0	Al-Suwaiq
6	2DF	Ahmed Al-Khamisi	(1991-11-26) 26 November 1991	19	0	Al-Suwaiq
11	2DF	Amjad Al-Harthi	(1994-01-01) 1 January 1994	21	1	Al-Suwaiq
12	2DF	Ahmed Al-Matrooshi	(1997-05-26) 26 May 1997	1	0	Al-Nahda
14	2DF	Ahmed Al-Kaabi	(1996-09-15) 15 September 1996	13	0	Al-Nahda
3	2DF	Fahmi Durbin	(1993-10-10) 10 October 1993	22	0	Al-Nasr
16	2DF	Khalid Al-Braiki	(1993-07-03) 3 July 1993	14	0	Al-Suwaiq
23	3MF	Harib Al-Saadi	(1990-02-01) 1 February 1990	55	0	Al-Suwaiq
21	3MF	Mataz Saleh	(1996-05-28) 28 May 1996	12	1	Dhofar
15	3MF	Musab Al-Mamari	(2000-01-22) 22 January 2000	2	0	Al-Rustaq
9	3MF	Omar Al-Malki	(1994-01-04) 4 January 1994	3	1	Al-Riffa
4	3MF	Arshad Al-Alawi	(2000-04-12) 12 April 2000	21	4	Emirates
13	4FW	Ahmed Al-Adawi	(1995-01-01) 1 January 1995	0	0	Al-Rustaq
20	4FW	Salaah Al-Yahyaei	(1998-08-17) 17 August 1998	35	6	Al-Seeb
7	4FW	Issam Al-Sabhi	(1997-05-01) 1 May 1997	17	4	Al-Suwaiq
10	4FW	Jameel Al-Yahmadi	(1996-07-27) 27 July 1996	39	2	Al-Markhiya
8	4FW	Zahir Al-Aghbari	(1999-05-28) 28 May 1999	18	0	Al-Khaldiya
17	4FW	Rabia Al-Alawi	(1995-03-31) 31 March 1995	19	6	Al-Nahda

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Awad Al-Shehri	(2000-01-12) 12 January 2000	0	0	Dhofar	v.  Syria, 23 December 2022
MF	Hatem Al-Rushadi	(1996-02-15) 15 February 1996	1	0	Free agent	v.  Syria, 23 December 2022
MF	Mohamed Al-Amri	(1994-09-20) 20 September 1994	3	0	Al-Seeb	v.  Belarus, 20 November 2022
FW	Yazed Al-Maashani	(1998-05-13) 13 May 1998	5	0	Dhofar	v.  Syria, 23 December 2022
FW	Aiman Ibrahim	(1997-02-28) 28 February 1997	0	0	Sur	v.  Syria, 23 December 2022
FW	Muhsen Al-Ghassani	(1997-03-27) 27 March 1997	32	7	Al-Seeb	v.  Belarus, 20 November 2022