The Sultanate of Oman has a long history of beach handball, appearing at the debut IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship back in 2004 and hosting the fifth edition of the global event at the Mussanah Sports City in 2012.

At that edition, their men’s side finished eighth, but in four appearances since, a seventh-place finish at Budapest 2016 is the highest they have ranked in a world championship.

But Oman arrive in Zagreb full of hope having won the AHF Men’s Asian Beach Handball Championships for the first time in 21 years when they took gold last year on home sand in Muscat.

That event – without continental powerhouses Qatar – saw Oman finally grab regional gold after a two-decade break and make a clear and bold statement that they mean business.

In Muscat, Oman won all three of their group games before being pushed all the way in the quarter-finals by the Philippines, winning via shoot-out 5:0 after their opponents had missed their first three shots.

Jordan were easily dispatched 2-0 in the semi-final, (19:8, 12:10) and then a surprisingly matter-of-fact 2-0 win over Islamic Republic of Iran in the final, 2-0 (21:18, 14:10) which saw 12 points scored by specialist Asad Al Hasani and Omani goalkeeper Hudhaifa Al Siyabi named as the best player of the match. The result was the first gold medal for Oman in the event since their 2004 victory in, also held in Muscat.

Almost a year later, Oman could not recreate their continental success, as they failed to podium at the 2026 Asian Beach Games in China after losing two of their preliminary group games 2-0, against Qatar and Thailand, despite beating Mongolia, Maldives, Bangladesh, Jordan and Pakistan by the same score.

For Croatia 2026, Oman were drawn in preliminary group D against title-holders and hosts Croatia, Oceania continental champions Australia and debutants France.

Australia are regular preliminary group opponents for Oman in the world championship, facing them each time in their last five appearances and beating them on every occasion. 

At China 2024, the Australians were swiftly dispatched 2-0 (20:14, 15:9), at Russia 2018 the Asian team won 2-1 (16:8, 8:15, SO 9:6) and at Hungary 2016 it was a 2-0 win for Oman (17:16, 17:12). Hungary also saw the Omanis face Croatia, but lost clearly, 2-0 (19:4, 23:12). Brazil 2014 featured another preliminary group Oman win against the Aussies, 2-0 (17:14, 22:16), the same as Oman 2012 (2-0).

Oman played Croatia 2026 opponents Australia and Croatia at Turkey 2010, beating Australia 2-0 and losing to the European side by the same score, and also faced Croatia in the very first IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship, Egypt 2004 when they lost in the quarter-finals 2:0 (27:9, 12:9).

Head coach Hamood al Hasani, assisted by assistant coach Jaber bin Yaqoub Al Balushi, have been putting the Omani squad through their paces with daily intensive training at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat – the same venue as the continental event last year – before heading to Zagreb to get acclimatised and play some friendly matches against Denmark, Croatia, Spain and Italy.

Alongside key players, specialist Asad Al Hasani and goalkeeper Hudhaifa Al Siyabi, the Oman squad also features Mehdi Al Suleimani, Yasser Al Harthy, Saeed Al Hassani, Hamad Al Hassani, Ahmed Al Ghailani, Abdulhakim Al Siyabi, Al Yazan Al Busaidy, Saeed Al Hassani and Muhannad Al Zarafi.
“Our target for Croatia 2026 is to achieve a better result than fourth place, which remains Oman’s best performance in the world championship so far,” said coach Al Hassani, speaking to the Oman Observer.

“Our preliminary group features strong teams and we fully respect all the opponents. However, we are focused on our preparation and confident in our ability to compete at this level. The friendly matches will be very important for us. They will allow the players to gain confidence and adjust to high-level competition before the tournament begins.

“We were not satisfied with our result at the Asian Beach Games, but we are determined to return stronger and show a different level in Croatia.”

Coach: Hamood al Hasani
Key Players: Asad Al Hasani, Hudhaifa Al Siyabi
Qualification information: 2025 AHF Men’s Asian Beach Handball Championship – 1st
History in Tournament: 2004: 8th, 2006-2008: DNQ, 2010: 9th, 2012: 8th, 2014: 12th, 2016: 7th, 2018: 10th, 2022: DNQ, 2024: 15th

Group at Croatia 2026: Group D: Croatia, France, Oman, Australia