Both Vietnam and Oman have already been eliminated from World Cup qualifying ahead of their meeting on Thursday.

The hosts are bottom of Group B in the Asian pool with just three points from eight games, while the visitors are fourth on eight points.

Match preview

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Neither country has ever previously qualified for the World Cup and their respective waits will go on for another four years at least.

After losing their first seven matches in Group B, Vietnam finally put points on the board with a 3-1 victory over China last month.

Ho Tan Tai, Nguyen Tien Linh and Phan Van Duc all found the back of the net as Vietnam were only denied a clean sheet by a 97th-minute Chinese goal.

Park Hang-seo's side have the worst defensive record in this stage of Asian qualifying, shipping 17 goals in eight games. They travel to Japan in their final group game next week.

Oman have won all three of their previous games against Vietnam, but this will be their first visit to Hanoi.

The Middle Eastern nation won 3-1 in the reverse fixture earlier in this qualifying campaign, one of just two victories they have picked up in eight matches.

Oman are winless in their last four games in Group B, but earned a respectable 2-2 draw against Australia last month as Abdullah Fawaz equalised from the penalty spot in the 89th minute.

Croatian boss Branko Ivankovic has been at the helm since 2020 and in December he signed a contract extension to keep him in charge until 2023.

Team News

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Vietnam will be without midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang, defensive pair Do Duy Manh and Doan Van Hau and goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, who are all injured.

However there are recalls for Nguyen Tuan Manh, Nguyen Tuan Anh and Nguyen Hai Huy who all missed out last month.

German-born defender Adriano Schmidt has been called up for the first time. He plays for Vietnamese top tier side Binh Dinh.

It had been reported that Oman manager Branko Ivankovic would be picking a young squad for this month's qualifiers with one eye on the future, but that has not proven to be the case.

Veterans Faiz Al-Rushaidi, Harib Al-Saadi, and Mohsin Al-Khaldi remain in the mix, but only goalkeeper Al-Rushaidi is likely to start.

There could be some experimentation from Ivankovic though, with youngsters Arshad Al-Alawi and Zahir Al-Aghbari expected to be given minutes.

Vietnam possible starting lineup:
Tran; Schmidt, Bui, Nguyen; Ho, Nguyen, Do, Nguyen; Nguyen, Nguyen, Pham

Oman possible starting lineup:
Al-Rushaidi; Al-Harthi, Durbein, Al-Khamisi, Gheilani; Al-Aghbari, Fawaz, Al-Alawi, Al-Yahmadi; Al-Hajri, Al-Sabhi

We say: Vietnam 1-2 Oman

With neither side having much to play for, both managers could experiment in this game which makes it difficult to predict an outcome. Oman are certainly the stronger side and have had some good results in this qualifying campaign, so we think they will take the three points.

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