The Oman Under-17 football team was clubbed with Yemen and Saudi Arabia in Group B at the 11th edition of the West Asian Championship which will be hosted by Jordan from September 2 to 11. The nine-day tournament will feature the participation of nine teams distributed into three groups. Group A comprised hosts Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon while Bahrain will compete with Syria and Palestine teams in Group C.
Oman will commence their West Asian tournament campaign with a match against defending champions Yemen on September 2 on the opening day and then they will meet Saudi Arabia on September 4.
The topper from each group will advance to the semifinal besides the best second-placed team among the three groups. The Wilayat of Salalah hosted the last edition of the group where Yemen were crowned champions after they defeated Saudi Arabia 3-2 on penalties in the final.
Oman had managed to win against Lebanon and ended their match with a draw against Iraq. They had suffered one loss against eventual champions Yemen.
On the other hand, Oman Under-17 football team head coach Anwar al Habsi, announced the squad for a short domestic camp which started on Thursday and will run until Sunday. The short warm-up gathering is part of the team’s preparations for the West Asian tournament besides the main forthcoming assignment of 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers.
Oman junior Red Warriors will eye for a top performance in the qualifiers to book a spot in the Asian finals and attend the Asian meet for the 11th time in history. Oman team will compete against Tajikistan, Guam and host Singapore in Group J for the 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers. The qualifiers will take place from October 19 to 27 in Singapore.
The ten group winners and five best second placed teams will advance to the finals accompanied by the hosts Saudi Arabia from April 3 to 20. The national team will meet Singapore in the opener of the qualifiers on October 23 before meeting Guam in a key match on October 25. Then, the national team boys will conclude their group matches with an essential game against Tajikistan who is ranked as the top-seeded team in the group.
The coaching staff of the team will continue their focus on enhancing their technical skills and fitness levels besides team’s physical conditioning, technical abilities and tactical strategies. The players will undergo rigorous physical training sessions to boost their technical strength and overall fitness while also refining their strategic gameplay.
Oman Squad:
Fahad al Mashaikhi, Qais Ameen, Mohammed al Salhi, Muadh al Hinai, Al Waleed al Buraidi, Suleiman al Kharousi, Ali al Waini, Yazen al Khaldi, Al Yazen al Balushi, Aseel al Habsi, Osama al Maamari, Abdulaziz al Balushi, Abdullah al Saadi, Firas al Saadi, Al Waleed al Rashdi, Al Moutasim al Maqbali, Ahmed al Rawahi, Mohammed al Maskhaeyi, Ali al Shezawi, Ibrahim al Tamimi, Ibrahim al Shamsi, Shihab al Ghazali, Al Hassan al Qasmi and Ahmed al Omrani.
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