MUSCAT, Oct 17
The Oman national under-17 football team are in perfect shape to vie for a slot at the AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers as they head off on Friday to Singapore to take part in the qualifiers, which will be hosted in Singapore for Group J matches from October 23 to 27.
Oman are placed in Group J alongside Tajikistan, Guam and hosts Singapore. Oman junior stars will work to secure a slot in the finals, scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia from April 3 to 20, 2025. All 10 group winners, accompanied by the five best-placed runners-up, will advance to the 20th edition of the AFC U17 Asian Cup. Two-time winners Saudi Arabia (1985, 1988) have already secured their spot as they host the finals for the second time in history, after 1992.
With hopes high for a strong showing in the continental top football assignment, the junior ‘Red Warriors’ will aim for an outstanding performance to raise their chances of securing one of the slots in the Asian finals.
Oman, under the watchful eyes of national head coach Anwar al Habsi, began the second part of their domestic camp on Wednesday, after concluding the first part recently. The previous warm-up camp featured a preparatory match against Yemen at Seeb Stadium, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Oman’s Al Hassan al Qasmi took the lead for the national team, while Ahmed Muhiem equalised for the Yemen team. During the match, both head coaches took the opportunity to test many players and evaluate their technical and physical readiness.
The Oman team resumed daily training sessions on Wednesday night for a short preparatory gathering at Seeb Stadium ahead of their departure for Singapore on Friday night.
Oman will begin their Asian qualifiers campaign with a key match against hosts Singapore on Wednesday (October 23). In the following game, they will take on Guam on Friday (October 25), and the concluding clash will be against Tajikistan on Sunday (October 27). All matches will be held at Bishan Stadium in Singapore, which will serve as the venue for the qualifiers matches.
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