With less than five days to go, Oman under-20 football team is undergoing intensive training in Tashkent ahead of AFC Asian U20 Championship which will take place in the Uzbekistan capital during March 1 to 18.
The junior Oman team will begin their campaign with a tight clash against South Korea for group C on March 2 at JAR Stadium in Tashkent, which can accommodate 8,500 fans. In the second match, Oman will face hosts on March 5 at Lokomotiv Stadium which has a seating capacity of 8,000. Oman team will take on Jordan in the concluding match in the group stage on March 8 at the same venue.
The top two teams in the group will secure slots in the last eight stage which will begin on March 11 while the semifinal matches are scheduled on March 15. The final match will take place on March 18.
Prior to the kick-off, the national under-20 team did not send confident signals as they suffered three straight defeats recently against Qatar (6-1 & 3-0) in Doha and against Uzbekistan (2-0) in Tashkent. Despite the consecutive losses, the coaching staff headed by the Spaniard David Gordo is expected to address all the weakness areas in the defence and attacking sides. This will be the third appearance for Oman team in the AFC Asian U20 Championship events after the 2000 and 2014 editions. During the past two participation, the team did not advance from the group stage. Oman boys will look for a different show in this edition of the top-continental assignment.
The 2023 AFC Asian U20 Championship is a qualifier for the Fifa U20 World Cup which will be hosted in Indonesia from May 20 to June 11. The top four teams in the Asian tournament will book their spots in the world championship.
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