Muscat: Oman futsal team is picking up the pace ahead of its debut at the AFC Futsal Asian Cup in September in Kuwait. After an absence of two months from last presence at the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) men’s futsal championship, the national futsal team players reported for training and completed their first part of the domestic preparatory camp on successful note recently. The short warm-up gathering was part of team’s preparations for the upcoming Asian finals in Kuwait from September 27 to October 8, 2022.
It is expected that the preparatory programme will feature series of internal and external camps which will be announced soon by the team management. The team will play some friendlies which will act as a good chance to assess all aspects of the team’s readiness for the forthcoming Asian assignment.
The Sultanate of Oman team will face a tough challenge with the hosts Kuwait, 16-time Asian champions Thailand and Iraq in Group A. The topper and runner-up from all the four groups will advance to the quarterfinals.
Younis al Fahdi, head of coaching staff, led the team to the semifinals in the latest presence of team at West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) men’s futsal championship which was held in Kuwait in June. Oman team suffered a 4-3 loss against Saudi Arabia in the semifinal.
In the group stage, the Sultanate of Oman team managed to top Group B by five points with a 4-2 win over the UAE in the opener.
Then, the Oman futsal team had registered two draws as they were held to a 2-2 draw against Bahrain before they split points with a 3-3 draw against Lebanon in the concluding group match. Lebanon ended their campaign as runners-up with the same points but with goal difference than Bahrain who finished in third place. The UAE team was positioned in the fourth place with no points. Ahead of WAFF event, the national team took part in the GCC Games in Kuwait.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
