Oman national university futsal team ended their campaign at the ongoing second Zayed Futsal Championship in Abu Dhabi at an early stage. The team received two defeats and registered only one triumph which was not enough to progress into the second round.
Oman university futsal team began their group matches with a heavy 8-0 defeat against Morocco. Oman team revived their chances with a 3-1 win over Lebanon after the shock in the opening game.
However, Saudi Arabia university team dashed Omani players hopes as they snatched a 3-2 win against the Oman team. Saudi Arabia and Morocco secured their spots to the quarterfinals.
The tournament featured participation of 15 teams distributed into three groups. The hosts United Arab Emirates were drawn in the first group besides Libya, Iraq, Bahrain and Somalia teams while the second group comprised of Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Palestine and Syria. Oman joined Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon and Yemen in the third group.
The teams including Libya, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Morocco and Bahrain advanced to the quarterfinals. The semifinal matches will take place on Thursday while the final match is scheduled on Friday.
In the previous edition in 2019, Oman national university futsal team had finished the tournament as the runners-up. The team lost against Egypt in the final match. The last appearance of the team, coached by Sami al Yousefi, was in last July as they took part in the 2022 FISU World University Championship which was hosted in the University of Minho, in Braga, Portugal.
Oman team was grouped in a tough Group B which comprised teams from Brazil, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Oman team faced strong rivals including favourites Brazil, who drubbed Oman 9-0. Slovakia beat Oman in the following match 4-2 and then Ukraine had thrashed Oman 9-0.
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