MUSCAT: Oman suffered their second defeat in the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2025 Qualifiers as North Korea edged Oman by 1-0 on Friday at the Republican Central Stadium in Dushanbe.
The win for the Korean side confirmed their spot at the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025 Finals from Group E. The victory took North Korea to 10 points while Oman remained at three points from one victory against Sri Lanka in the second game while they lost against Malaysia 2-1 in the opener.
In another game, the hosts Tajikistan earned a crucial win over Malaysia 1-0 in Friday's later match to revive their chances to qualify as the best five of second placed teams among ten groups.
Red Warriors junior team will conclude their group matches on Sunday as they will meet Tajikistan while Malaysia will face eliminated Sri Lanka in another tie of the group.
Oman was looking for a win against North Korea to vie for a spot in the Asian finals for the fourth time in history. Both teams exchanged opportunities in the opening and deciding half with North Korea just shading ball possession.
The only goal in the match was scored in the 80th minute through RI Jong Dok DOK who delivered an essential three points to his team. Oman’s strikers including Yousef al Shabibi, Majid Ramadhan, Muhannad al Saadi, and Mohammed Ghanim al Samin could not convert any scoring attempts into a goal. Oman head coach Ahmed Mubarak al Alawi did five substitutions in the second half by entering Said al Ghanboosi, Shahab Ahmed, Abdul Hadi al HAbshi, Ghassan Moosa, and Faisal al Hadidi. All the substitutes could not change the result as North Korea benefited from the mistake of the defending line to score and earn three essential points.
Oman’s coming game against Tajikistan will not impact the first two positions as junior Red Warriors lost their chances to vie among other teams for the five best second-placed teams.
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