Muscat, Dec 12 -
The Oman national U-16 football team concluded the first overseas camp in Bahrain on Saturday on a bright note.
During the camp, the national junior team had two friendly matches, the first match ended for the Sultanate team with a 2-1 victory while the Sultanate team suffered a 2-0 loss in the second game.
The goals from the hosts Bahrain were netted by Mahmood al Banai and Sayyied Mahmood al Mosawai. The seven-day camp was suitable for the coaching staff headed by the national coach Hilal al Oufi and his assistant Sultan al Touqi to assess the players’ performance prior to the top Asian assignment at the AFC U-16 Championship.
Coach Al Oufi had tested many players during both the matches and gave equal chances to all to prove their technical skills and capabilities. The initial kick off list is almost clear for the head coach and he will finalise the list before the Asian event in Bahrain next year.
The preparatory plan of the team will continue after the external camp in Bahrain. It is expected all the team players accompanied by the technical staff will be in home quarantine for 10 days as per the procedures of the Supreme Committee. Then, the team will be back to another warm up gathering after completion of the quarantine period.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will announce the new itinerary and schedules of the AFC U-16 Championship very soon as the previous itinerary, which was supposed to be in 2020, is postponed to the next year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Oman will play against Tajikistan, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates teams in Group B at the AFC U-16 Championship. The top two teams in the group will advance to the quarterfinals. The top four teams in the AFC U-16 finals will represent Asia at the Fifa U-17 World Cup in 2021 in Peru.
Adil Al Balushi
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