Junior Red Warriors all set to Asian Cup
The Oman U-17 national football team are all set to take part in the 20th edition of AFC U-17 Asian Cup which will start in Saudi Arabia on Thursday. Oman team's delegation will travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday as the team will have few training sessions ahead of the Asian event start. Oman will vie in the highly anticipated tournament in Group D alongside Iran, Tajikistan and North Korea. Oman's campaign in the Asian Championship will commence with a match against Tajikistan on Saturday at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium Hall (Jeddah) and the match will start at 8:00 pm (Oman time). Then, the Red Warriors will meet Iran in a tight game on April 8 at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium (Jeddah) before concluding the group matches with a clash against North Korea on April 11 at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium (Jeddah). The AFC U-17 Asian Cup will feature 16 teams, divided into four groups. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, with the Championship also acting as a qualifier for the Fifa U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025. For the first time, eight Asian teams will secure spots in the expanded 48-team global event.
Oman's young talents will aim to make their mark on the continental stage with hopes of progressing beyond the group phase and securing a spot in the prestigious Fifa U-17 World Cup.
The national team players completed their readiness recently with four matches against Russia and Vietnam. Both warm-up games against Vietnam ended at 1-0 for Vietnam. Earlier, Oman suffered two defeats against Russia in friendly matches. The first preparatory match at Al Rustaq Sports Complex ended for Russia at 4-1 while the following warm-up fixture finished for Russia again at 5-1.
Despite the losses, the coaching staff took the maximum technical output from those games and the final tune up matches shaped the team's readiness for the forthcoming challenge at AFC U-17 Asian Cup which will be scheduled in Saudi Arabia during April 3-20, 2025.
On the other hand, the Oman U-17 national football team head coach, Anwar al Habsi, named the 23-member squad who will represent the junior Red Warriors in the 20th edition of AFC U-17 Asian Cup which will start in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
The finalised squad: Ahmed al Rawahi, Ibrahim al Shamsi, Mohammed Saleem, Al Hassan al Qasmi, Fahad al Mashaikhi, Mohammed al Mashaikhi, Mohammed Juma, Abduallah al Saadi, Al Waleed al Rashdi, Ahmed al Omrani, Al Yazen al Balushi, Yazan al Khaldi, Al Waleed al Baradee, Ibrahim al Tamimi, Ziyad al Faraji, Abdullah al Wahaibi, Al Walid Salam, Riyadh al Tarshi, Firas al Saadi, Osama al Maamari, Abdulaziz al Balushi, Sulieman al Kharousi and Ali al Owaini.
It is expected the team will commence their training sessions after arrival to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday until their opening match against Turkmenistan on Saturday.
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