Oman Olympic (under-23) team drawn in Group A of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 Qualifiers along with hosts Jordan, Syria and Brunei Darussalam. The draw ceremony took place at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday. The qualifiers are scheduled to be during September 4 to 12, 2023.
As many as 44 teams divided into 11 groups. Each group comprised from four teams except group K which feature from three. The hosts of the finals Qatar will play their games in group B as preparatory games ahead of championship start during April 15 to May 3, 2024. The champions of 2020 South Korea will host the group matches and play against Myanmar, Kyrgyz Republic and Qatar. Vietnam will vie for a direct spot as they will take on Singapore, Yemen and Guam team in Group C.
The Asian heavyweights Japan are on the top seeds in Group D will play against the hosts Bahrain, Palestine and Pakistan, while the last edition runner up Uzbekistan clubbed in Group E beside Iran, Hong Kong, China and Afghanistan teams and the matches will be held in Uzbekistan.
Iraq team will recall their memories of 2013 as they were the champion and will face the hosts Kuwait, Timor-Leste and Macau in group F while United Arab Emirates will face India, Maldives and hosts China teams in group G.
The top seeding team in group H and the hosts Thailand will vie for a slot in the finals as they will meet Malaysia, Bangladesh and Philippines, while Group I will include the hosts Tajikistan, Australia, Laos and DPR Korea.
Title owner, Saudi Arabia, will host group J matches, which will feature from Cambodia, Lebanon and Mongolia teams while the last group K which is comprised from three-teams including Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei and the hosts Indonesia.
The topper from each group will secure direct spot to the finals of Qatar 2024 alongside to the four best second-placed teams which will also join to the finals beside the hosts Qatar. The top three teams in the Qatar finals will advance to the 2024 Summer Olympics Games in Paris while the fourth-placed team in the championship will take on a global playoff against the fourth-placed team from the African Championship. For the first time in history the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 Qualifiers will see the teams from east and west regions be merged to vie for slots to the championship.
Oman Olympic (under-23) returned back to action during May month with two domestic preparatory camps. The training sessions at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex were under supervision of national coach Akram Habreesh. The main objective of both the preparatory camps were to raise the fitness level and enhance the physical condition of the players for the forthcoming events.
Oman Olympic boys will take part in the West Asian Championship in Iraq which will be held during June 10 to 20. Then, it will be followed by Arab Cup for Olympic Teams which will be held in Algeria in July 5 to 15. Then, the main assignment for the national Olympic team will be vying for a slot during the U23 Asian Cup qualifiers in September in Amman city. Later, Oman Olympic team players will be attending in the Asian Games in China from September 23 to October 8.
OMAN SQUAD: Khalid Yazeed, Asaad al Balushi, Ayman al Nabhani, Hudhaifa al Maamari, Qusai al Maamari, Sameer al Hatmi, Salim al Dawoodi, Abdullah al Fulaiti, Hammam al Mawali, Salim Abdulsalam, Khalid al Ghatrefi, Abdulrahman al Yaqoobi, Abdulhafidh al Mukhaini, Abdullah al Mukhaini, Omar al Hadabi, Said al Rawahi, Said al Salami, Ahed al Mashakhi, Mazin Saleh, Nibras al Mashari, Omar al Balushi, Mohammed Abdul Hakeem, Mohammed Moosa, Mohsin al Dawoodi and Abdullah al Alawi.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
