MUSCAT: The Oman Olympic football team’s external camp is under way in Turkiye under watchful eyes of national head coach Akram Habreesh. The abroad camp began with the training sessions recently and will run until Thursday.
Oman team young boys played two friendly games till now in the camp against Qatar’s Al Waab SC and Al Khor SC. The first warm-up match against Al Waab SC did not complete due to an injury to one of Qatari club players in the 25th minute.
Later on Sunday, the Oman Olympic team suffered a 2-1 loss against Al Khor SC in the following fixture. Oman’s goal was netted by Al Faraj al Kumi while the opponents goals were scored by Ahmed al Mohanadi and Locas Rebero. Despite the defeat, the coaching staff took the desired technical outcomes from this game as coach Habreesh tested many players in the match with numerous substitutions to ensure the individual readiness of the players ahead of the forthcoming major assignments.
The closest official event for Olympic team will be taking part in the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 Qualifiers which will take place in Jordan during September 4 to 12. Oman team were drawn in Group A alongside to Jordan (hosts), Syria and Brunei teams. Coach Habreesh’s men will target to secure one of the direct tickets to the finals which will be held during April 15 and May 3, 2024. The qualifiers format will be in a single round-robin at a centralised venue with the 11 group winners and four best second-placed teams going through.
Ahead of Turkiye camp, the Olympic team players had reported back to the training in a domestic camp in Muscat. Also, the team tested their readiness against the champions of the HM Cup and Omantel League, Al Nahdha club and the match ended 1-1. Oman’s goal was scored by Ahmed al Mushkehi while Al Nahdha’s goal was netted by Essam al Subhi.
Oman Olympic team’s ongoing camp in Turkiye featured absence of some key players including striker Ahed al Mushaikhi, Mazin al Harrasi and Omar al Salti due to their commitments with their respective clubs. They will join the national team ahead of the qualifiers start in early September.
Oman Squad: Al Faraj al Kiyoumi, Khalid al Ghatrifi, Salim al Abdulsalam, Said al Salami, Abdulhafidh al Mukhaini, Osama al Haddabi, Omran al Numani, Mohammed al Hinai, Mulham al Sunaidi, Maitham al Ajmi, Nasser al Rawahi, Mohammed Bait Mustahil, Maamoon al Araimi, Mohammed al Hatmi, Abdullah al Fulaiti, Abdulmajeed al Balushi, Abdullah al Mukhaini, Yousef al Ghilani, Abdullah al Alawi, Salim al Dawoodi, Nibras al Mashari, Mohammed Abdulhakeem and Ali al Balushi
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