(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) Oman captain Ali al Habsi has been ruled out of the 21st Gulf Cup as Premier League side Wigan refused to release the national team's No 1 goalkeeper for the regional tournament.The eight-nation event will be played in Bahrain from January 5-18. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday to announce the 23-member squad, Sayyid Khalid al Busaidy, the Oman Football Association (OFA) chairman, said, ''We tried our best to convince the Wigan management to release Ali for the Gulf Cup. We suggested they could let him play a couple of matches, but Wigan manager [Roberto] Martinez declined our request.''We always knew it would be difficult as the Gulf Cup is not a FIFA-sanctioned tournament and the clubs are not bound to release players for national duty. Despite our repeated attempts, the Wigan management conveyed to us this afternoon that Ali won't be available for the Gulf Cup. The club also told us that he is carrying an injury and they wouldn't like to risk him further.'' Oman coach Paul Le Guen said, ''I had a long chat with Mr Martinez today and he made me understand his position. I fully respect it as I'm a coach, too. The club feels it doesn't have an ideal replacement for Ali and its current standing in the Premier League is far from the safety zone. We have no choice and we will be without our No 1 keeper [in Bahrain].''The Frenchman added, ''It's a big blow for us. Ali is the team captain and a massive player. [But] we have to move ahead.'' Le Guen said that Oman's other two keepers - Mazin al Kaabi and Faiz al Rusheidi - have done well so far. ''I had a slight fear that the team may face a situation. That's the reason I sent both the keepers, Mazin and Faiz, to take part in the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship in Kuwait recently. Hani Najmaldine will be our third keeper in Bahrain,'' he said. Announcing the Bahrainbound contingent, Le Guen said it is a balanced unit.He termed the opening game against Bahrain as 'very tough', but added that the team is going with 'optimism' and is 'ambitious'. ''I believe my team has the ability to cope against the other teams. We would like to return home with the Gulf Cup,'' he said. The squad features ten players who may make their debut in the regional biennial showpiece event. They are - Kaabi, Najmaldine (keepers), Ali Salim al Nahar, Mohammed al Mussallami (defenders), Ali al Jabri, Raeed Ibrahim, Eid al Farsi (midfielders), Abdullah Saleh, Yaqoob Abdulkarim and Abdulaziz al Miqbali (strikers). Le Guen also spoke on his team's recent tendency of conceding goals in the dying stages of a match and admitted that it is a concern.He said, ''Talking about our matches against Japan or Togo, we need to understand that our rival teams have players who play in tough European leagues, while our domestic league structure is not that strong. ''Our players tend to lose focus late in the match as they are not used to that level of concentration. We addressed the matter during recent training sessions.'' Meanwhile, Sayyid Khalid said that 'exceptional bonuses' await the players after each victory at the Gulf Cup, declining to elaborate on it.The team will depart for Bahrain on Thursday morning by a Royal Air Force flight. Team:Goalkeepers: Mazin al Kaabi (Seeb), Faiz al Rusheidi (Suwaiq), Hani Najmaldine (Dhofar); Defenders: Saad Suhail (Dhofar), Ali Salim al Nahar (Dhofar), Abdulsalam Amour (Al Raed, Saudi Arabia), Mohammed al Mussallami (Fanja), Mohammed Sheeba (Al Wahda, UAE), Jaber al Owaisi (Al Shabab), Hussain Mudhaffar (Dhofar); Midfielders: Ahmed Mubarak 'Kanu' (Al Ettifaq, Saudi Arabia), Ali al Jabri (Al Nahda), Raeed Ibrahim (Al Arouba), Fauzi Basheer (Dhafra, UAE), Ahmed Hadeed (Al Jaish, Qatar), Eid al Farsi (Al Arouba); Strikers: Hussain al Hadhri (Dhofar), Ismail al Ajmi (Al Faisaly, Saudi Arabia), Juma Darwish (Dhofar), Abdullah Saleh (Al Arouba), Yaqoob Abdulkarim (Saham), Abdulaziz al Miqbali (Al Shabab) and Imad al Hosni (Al Ahli, Saudi Arabia)
