MUSCAT: Sulieman al Mahruqi powered Oman U-15 football team to grab Arab School Football Championship with a thrilling 1-0 victory against Lebanon in the final clash on Sunday night in Cairo, Egypt.
The national junior stars arrived to Muscat with a warm welcoming at Muscat International Airport following their sensational triumph. The team received by HE Dr. Abdullah Khamis Ambusaidi, Education Ministry's Undersecretary for Education and Chairman of Oman School Sports Association (OSSA) and Mohsin al Masrouri, Vice Chairman of Oman Football Association (OFA).
Oman team, coached by the national experienced head coach Anwar al Habsi, delivered an outstanding technical performance during the ten days tournament. Oman’s campaign in the Arabian School Football tournament began after Oman were drawn in group B with Morocco and Lebanon teams. The Sultanate of Oman team positioned as runners-up in Group B with four points behind Lebanon who topped the group with four points too but with better goal difference. Oman boys commenced their campaign in the tournament with a 2-1 win over Morocco and then they ended their second match against Lebanon on a 1-1 draw. In the semifinals on last Friday, Oman beat Egypt 1-0 while Lebanon prevailed over Libya 4-3 in penalties after 1-1 draw at full time. In the final clash, Oman registered a 1-0 win over Lebanon to capture the title.
The head coach of Oman team, Anwar al Habsi, thanked all the young players for their top efforts during the tournament. “ It is great achievement during November as the Sultanate of Oman marking their 53rd national day. I am very proud on my players who managed to deliver a thrilling display in this Arabian meet. The team formation started with proper selection of the players from different educational governerates around the Sultanate of Oman. There was a strategic work between OSSA and OFA to build up this team and provide a full support to shape them technically fit for this event. It was the first abroad assignment for this squad of the players and they managed to win the title,” he said
“ Despite the challenging and competing technical level of this tournament, our boys secured successfully a direct ticket to the semifinals and then to the final match before clinching the trophy in the final tie. All the boys deserved this vital triumph following their solid show in the tournament. This is the first Arabian football school title for Omani players and we hope to continue with more achievement in the coming period,” he ended.
Following the Arab tournament, the Oman players will compete in the Under-15 West Asian Football Championship which will be hosted in Salalah during December 11 to 20, under WAFF in coordination with the Oman Football Association (OFA). The hosts Sultanate of Oman, champions in 1998, will compete against Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon in Group A while defending champions Jordan were drawn with UAE, Saudi Arabia and Syria in an exciting Group B.
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