Oman U-23 side concludes Bahrain training camp

Muscat, June 9

Oman Olympic (U-23) football team ended the first overseas training camp in Bahrain successfully after a long break due to the pandemic. The external camp which lasted for 19 days featured two preparatory matches against Bahrain Olympic team.

Oman suffered 1-0 defeats in both friendlies with the goal scored in the dying minutes. In the second match which was held late on Tuesday at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Manama, AbdulRahman Sayed netted the winner. Saleh Mohammed scored the only goal in the opening match for Bahrain.

U-23 head coach Dario Basic said Bahrain camp was the first external gathering for the team since suspension of the sporting activities in the Sultanate. “The squad included new faces who joined recently in the national Olympic team and the players were playing together for the first time,” he said.

The Croatian coach pointed out that the Sultanate Olympic team delivered good show in both warm-up fixtures. The reason of the defeat in both games could be attributed to less technical experience and fitness levels of the players. Furthermore, improving players’ fitness level should become as priority for the team as it was the significant reason for the loss,” he said.

Dario described Bahrain warm-up gathering as a successful camp for the team.

“We managed to have many sessions to develop the players with good physique and enhance their qualities. Also, the camp was an opportunity to have more connectivity and integrity among the players and determine the starting line-up,” he ended.

Both international friendly matches in Bahrain camp were the first official test for the Croatian coach since his appointment earlier last year. Dario implemented many substitutions in both games to test different faces in the squad.

The camp was part of team’s preparation for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers that will take place in October. The finals of the AFC Asian (U-23) will be held in September 2022 in Uzbekistan during September 6 to 25.

OMAN U-23 SQUAD: Essam al Makhzoomi, Faisal al Harthy, Arshad al Alawi, Yahya al Hudaifi, Awadh al Shari, Hussain al Shari, Najeeb al Shujaibi, Jasim al Noubi, Fahad Bait Obaidan, Essa al Naabi, Saud al Habsi, Al Baraa al Maawali, Islam al Hinai, Fahad al Hajri, Ibrahim al Rajhi, Yusuf al Malki, Abdullah al Balushi, Hani al Nuaimi, Musab al Maamari, Yusuf al Shiyadi, Mohammed al Buraiki, Marwan al Abdulsalam, Hani al Qartoubi and Qasim Mubarak.