Muscat, March 1
Oman U20 team is keen to register a strong start in the AFC U20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2023 championship as it will take on South Korea on Thursday in the opening match of Group C at JAR Stadium. The match will begin at 14:00 (Oman time).
In the same group, Tajikistan will face off Jordan on Thursday at Lokomotiv Stadium and the encounter will start at 16:00.
The national junior boys will eye for a positive step in today’s assignment against the young Taegeuk Warriors. Despite the difficulty of the clash, Oman team is aware that Thursday’s triumph will act as a confidence booster for the team in the upcoming matches. The underway Asian event in Uzbekistan acts as a qualifier for the Fifa U20 World Cup Indonesia 2023 later this year.
The Oman boys have geared up for the Asian challenge after a recently concluded 10-day camp in Tashkent city ahead of the tournament start.
During the camp, the team played a friendly match against Asian Cup hosts Uzbekistan which the Uzbeks won 2-0. Besides that, the Oman team underwent two abroad camps in Qatar. The team had suffered two straight defeats in Doha against Qatar (6-1 and 3-0).
Spanish coach David Gordo and assisting coaching staff worked hard during the last couple of days to improve all the defending and scoring woes. The latest training sessions in Tashkent addressed all the required technical and tactical requirements for the forthcoming games. The Spanish coach is looking to deliver the desired targets for the team from this crucial participation and establishing a specific playing style.
“The team went for a different stage of technical preparations to compete in this significant tournament. We worked hard to shape the players and now we are looking to achieve the planned targets,” coach David Gordo said during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
OMAN TARGET NEXT ROUND
Oman’s focus is to progress from the group stage as their last two participations ended at the group level.
“The team will aim to deliver a top match against Korea Republic, who are ranked as a top Asian team with high quality of players and are favourites to win the title. The players are almost adapted to the weather conditions after the external camp which finished recently in Tashkent prior to the start of the tournament,” Gordo added.
The experienced Spanish coach said the Asian Cup acted as a golden opportunity for the players to help them to grow properly to be top stars in the future. “Taking part in a centennial competition level will assist the young players to achieve this goal.”
He said the Oman team will play in their own style. “We will face the rivals with our own style. I know Korea Republic is a great team but we believe in our own style. We worked hard to analyse all the teams in the group and tournaments. This analysis will support us to face them in the tournament,” Gordo concluded.
On the other hand, the 12-time champions will look to set a new record-extending 13th continental title.
Korea Republic head coach Kim Eun-jung said: “As the powerhouses in Asia, our goal is to win this edition of the Asian tournament. Admittedly, the other teams are also progressing so it will be tough, but we believe we are well prepared for the challenge.”
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