MUSCAT: Oman under-17 football team will face Tajikistan in their opening clash of Group D at AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025 at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium (Jeddah) on Saturday. The match will kick off at 19:00 (Oman Time).
Iran will take on North Korea later on Saturday at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium (Jeddah). The junior Red Warriors will look to begin their campaign strongly as an opening triumph will motivate the players for their upcoming tie against Iran on Tuesday. Coach Anwar al Habsi’s boys are all set for the crucial match as the team arrived in Saudi Arabia recently and performed series of training sessions besides several preparatory domestic and international camps in the last few months.
Oman head coach Anwar Al Habsi affirmed in his media statements ahead of the opening match against Tajikistan that Oman players can deliver their best against one of Asia’s best teams in the opening match for the both teams.
The Oman junior stars, who made the finals as one of the five best runners-up teams, will aim to rekindle their memories since 25 years from their last title.
”Attending the finals with the top Asian teams is acting as a great opportunity for our boys to refine and develop their technical skills by competing against different footballing schools that represent Asia's elite national teams,” Anwar said.
The national team players have prepared for the event after with some tough friendly matches. Oman had played four matches against Russia and Vietnam in the last month. Both warm-up games against Vietnam ended at 1-0 for Vietnam. Earlier, Oman suffered two defeats against Russia in friendly matches as part of the team’s domestic camp in Al Musannah in March. Russia won 4-1 in the first match at Al Rustaq Sports Complex and repeated the win in second fixture by 5-1.
“This U17 team represents the future of Omani football in the coming years. The opponent Tajikistan are one of the favourites and both teams have full knowledge of each other. They are well-organised and physically strong and we have prepared to face them by playing against teams with a similar Tajik-style approach,” Al Habsi added.
Both teams met during the qualifiers as Oman lost 2-0 to Tajikistan.
“Our boys are in best readiness level and our preparations included an internal training camp, where we played four friendly matches. We also have a complete squad with no injuries," Anwar concluded.
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