Oman U19 team to play friendlies against Kuwait

MUSCAT: Oman Under-19 football team arrived in Kuwait late on Thursday for an aboard preparatory camp that will run for one week and will feature two friendly games against the host team on Saturday and Sunday. Oman team, coached by national head coach Ahmed al Alawi, completed the short domestic gathering which started on Monday in presence of all the players in the squad.

This camp is the first external preparatory gathering for the coaching staff, who took in charge last November, after several internal camps in Muscat and Bidiya. The forthcoming matches against Kuwait will give better idea for the head coach and his assisting team on the player’s readiness and technical capabilities to finalise the starting up list for the forthcoming official assignments.

Moreover, the preparatory matches will raise the harmony among the selected squad and enter the players in a good environment of the official tournaments and thrilling competitions. Oman boys will compete in the third edition of the West Asian Championship which will be held in Saudi Arabia in the middle of the current year. Then, the team will vie for one of the direct spots at AFC U20 Asian Cup 2025 Qualifiers in September 2024, while the finals of 2025 AFC U20 Asian Cup is scheduled to take place in February 2025.

Oman U19 team to play friendlies against Kuwait

The national team boys will be eying to progress to the Asian Cup for the fourth time in the upcoming edition. Oman’s last appearance was in the 2023 AFC U20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan finals last March 2023. Oman’s campaign in the Asian Cup had ended with only one point from a goalless draw against Jordan. Oman had suffered two defeats in the first two games of the group against South Korea and Tajikistan. It was the third participation for them in Asian AFC U20 finals in Uzbekistan after 2014 (Myanmar) and 2000 (Iran) editions.

Two domestic matches were played by the junior players of the national team in last January as they had played against Ahli Sidab, won by Oman team 3-0. Oman’s goals were scored by Ayoob al Busaidy, Said al Ghanboosi and Al Hussain al Qasmi. The second match was against Muscat club and the game concluded with Oman’s victory at 2-0. Rabee al Sunaidy and Al Hussain al Qasmi netted the winning goals for the Oman team.

OMAN SQUAD: Majid al Farsi, Masoud al Bahri, Ghassan al Masrouri, Basha al Muharabi, Rabee al Sunaidy, Abdullah al Jabri, Said al Ghanbousi, Jawad al Azi, Adnan al Mashaefri, Ali al Alawi, Mohammed al Sameen, Ahmed al Shanfari, Al Hussain al Qasmi, Oadi al Manwari, Muhannad al Saadi, Mamoun al Soli, Yousef al Shabibi, Rashad al Dheen, Yassar al Balushi, Fahad al Mukhaini, Fahad Awadh, Shihab al Mukhaini, Abdullah al Mamari and Ziyad al Jaalani.