Oman beats Australia in WCup qualifying upset

Published Nov. 11, 2011 5:06 p.m. ET

foxsports

Oman caused an upset in 2014 World Cup qualifying by beating Australia 1-0 on Friday in a Group D game in the third round of Asian qualifiers at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.

Oman striker Imaad al Hosni scored the winner in the 18th minute against the run of the play. Ahmed Hadeed sent a defence-splitting pass to Imaad, who hammered his shot past Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

Oman, ranked 103rd, then managed to cope with the second-half pressure as the 20th-ranked Australians pressed for an equalizer.

Australia leads the group with nine points from four games, while Oman has four points.

Saudi Arabia plays Thailand later in Riyadh. Thailand has four points from three matches while Saudi Arabia has two from same number of games.

With two games left, Oman's French coach Paul Le Guen said his team was on the right track.

''Though it is going to be a tough path, we are on the right way,'' he said. ''The team has displayed improvement and they proved it today. We need to recover fast and then be ready for the next game against Saudi Arabia on November 15.''