Oman boys are in good shape to begin their challenge at the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers. Muscat city will be the hosts for the qualifiers of Group C which also feature Iraq, Qatar, Lebanon and Bahrain teams.
The qualifiers will start on Saturday and will conclude on October 9.
Oman national U-17 team concluded the last stage of preparations ahead of the qualifiers start as they ended the abroad camp in Saudi Arabia. The 10 days external gathering included two friendly games against Saudi Arabi and India teams.
The first warm-up game against the camp hosts ended at 2-2 draw while Oman junior boys suffered a 3-1 defeat against the Indian team. Despite the results, the friendlies will satisfy the coaching staff requirement as they set their sights on the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers.
Also, both preparatory fixtures acted as crucial opportunity for the national head coach Anwar al Habsi to finalise the starting line-up of the team prior to qualifiers start.
After completion of the external camp in Dammam city, Oman boys will return back to Muscat on Friday and will resume the training sessions earlier next week in an internal camp.
Oman will commence their campaign in the Asian qualifiers with a match against Lebanon on Monday. The match will begin at 5 pm (Oman time) at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
Qatar and Iraq will begin the group matches as both teams will meet on Saturday at the same venue. Bahrain and Lebanon match will follow the opener and the match will start at 8:45 pm.
Oman will play against Bahrain in the second round match on Wednesday and the fixture will begin at 5 pm. Then, Oman will play against Qatar in the third match before concluding the qualifiers with a match against Iraq on October 9.
Yasser al Balushi, Al Harith al Mashaykhi and their teammates will eye on clinching the qualified spot to the finals after Oman U-19 team managed to progress into the AFC U20 Asian Cup next year in Uzbekistan. The national team boys are eager to put up better performance after the disappointment in the Arab Cup U-17 Championship in Algeria and West Asian U-17 Championships in Jordan.
As many as 43 teams divided into five groups will vie for 16 available seats for the finals. The 10 group winners and six best runners-up will advance to AFC U17 Asian Cup next year in Bahrain.
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