Oman U-17 hopes disappear to qualify for WC
Oman U-17 team hopes to attend at Fifa U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025 were dashed after their 2-2 draw against North Korea in the concluding match of group D at AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025. The draw result meant progressing of North Korea as group runners-up as they reached to five points while Oman team placed in third position with four points only from one victory against Iran 2-1 and a 2-2 draw with North Korea beside the loss against Tajikistan 2-1 in the opener. The group leaders Tajikistan stun Iran 3-1 in the concluding match of the group stage to confirm their top spot while Iran warped up their campaign at the last position with one point only.
Oman head coach Anwar al Habsi said post the match that the team's midfield was one of our negatives. ' The deficiency of middle line of the team proved one of the defining factors. The players lost the ball in midfield were one of our key negatives,' he added
'In overall, attending in the Asian Cup finals was a good experience for the team and the boys. The players must trust themselves more and work harder in the upcoming matches. I am confident they have more to provide in the forthcoming events' he ended.
On the other hand, the head coach of North Korea Thae Song expressed his happiness with the match result. ' I am very pleased with the boys performance and more happy about this result. The team worked very hard and since very long to achieve this moment. The players are happy to have qualified for the World Cup,' Coach Thae Song added
'Despite putting more emphasis in the defending line, we have received two goals. I believe we need to work harder in the coming days to strengthen the defending line in the upcoming match. For the main assignment at Fifa World Cup, we will need to analyse our strong and weak points ahead of the globe competition begin,' he concluded
North Korea will meet Indonesia on Monday at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah while group D toppers Tajikistan will take on South Korea in the same day.
Back to Oman and North Korea match, Kim Yu Jin took the lead for his team in the 10th minute while Osama al Maarami scored the equaliser for Oman in the 64th minute. Ri Kang Rim managed to bring his team ahead once again in the 74th minute while Al Walid al Abdulsalam equalised for Oman to make it 2-2 in the dying minutes.
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