analysis
The German national soccer team makes a detour to Oman on their way to the World Cup. The opponent in the test match will be as foreign as the sultanate on the Arabian Peninsula.
The stay in Oman lasts little longer than an away game in qualifying or Nations League. To speak of a training camp would be an exaggeration. When the delegation of the German national team moved into their hotel rooms in the capital Muscat shortly after midnight local time, Monday was already over.
On Tuesday (15.11.22) the usual dates before a game are scheduled: final training and press conference with national coach Hansi Flick. On Wednesday, the last test match before the World Cup kicks off at 9 p.m. local time, in Germany it is only 6 p.m. The game will primarily serve to acclimatize. In the evening the temperatures drop to around 27 degrees, a light breeze makes it pleasant. During the day the thermometer rises to more than 30 degrees. The conditions are similar to those in Qatar.
In terms of sport, Oman should not be underestimated
In terms of sport, the task could be a bit more difficult than some might think. In qualifying for the World Cup, for example, Oman only lost 1-0 to Japan, the first German opponent at the tournament in Qatar. Croatia coach Branko Ivanković’s team also lost by just one goal against the hosts of the World Cup and another participant, Tunisia. There was even a 2:2 against Australia.
The plans of the German Football Association (DFB) initially envisaged spending the days between the last matchday before the winter break and the World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), including a friendly against their national team.
However, the UAE wanted to play in Abu Dhabi, but national coach Flick did not want to travel the 140-kilometer route there and back from the selected quarters in Dubai. This led to slight disagreements between the two associations. The DFB chose Oman, the UAE will now play against Argentina on Wednesday. The chances of marketing this game against the team with superstar Lionel Messi on better terms than against Germany should be good.
Wealth thanks to oil, migrants are exploited
The selection of the DFB will be against Oman in “Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex” to play. The stadium is named after Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who ruled the country on the Arabian Peninsula as monarch from 1970 until his death in 2020. His successor is Haitham ibn Tariq, the cousin of Sultan Qaboos, who is still highly revered today.
November 18th is a national holiday. That is why everything is illuminated in the national colors.
The Muslim Oman with its approximately 5.2 million inhabitants, of which a good 1.3 million live in Muscat, is an absolute monarchy. Parliament is only advisory. Oman has developed faster than many other countries in recent decades and has attained some wealth thanks to its oil reserves. Almost half of the population comes from abroad, many from India and the Philippines.
Non-governmental organizations complain that the migrants – as in Qatar – are still being exploited today. According to a report by Amnesty International, women continue to be extremely disadvantaged, but they are said to fare better in comparison to countries such as neighboring Saudi Arabia.
DFB team missed national day
The German team will fly to Qatar late Thursday morning – a day earlier than originally planned. The delegation missed the national holiday in Oman by a few hours. November 18th was Sultan Qaboos’ birthday. The day is celebrated in a big way, with music and dancing.
The city of Muscat is already bathed in the national colors of white, red and green. Almost every palm tree on the way from the airport to the city is hung with lamps. Many of the numerous and very large malls are also illuminated with the national colors. The fact that Oman is one of the countries with the highest energy consumption per capita has more to do with the oil industry, which consumes a lot of energy.