MUSCAT: The Olympic U-23 football team head coach, Badar al Maimani, called 24 players for the upcoming short scheduled preparatory internal camp which will begin on Sunday and will run for four days in Muscat. The new squad is very similar to the last one including two additional players: Abdullah al Jabri and Yassar al Balushi. This gathering is part of the team’s preparations for the upcoming AFC U-23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers which is scheduled to take place in early September. The gathering is expected to focus on tactical drills, fitness conditioning and team cohesion.
The previous preparatory camp in Muscat which was held during end of June and early of July featured two friendly matches against local teams. The first match ended in a goalless draw between the Olympic team and the Royal Army of Oman while they registered a 2-1 victory over the Royal Guard of Oman. The camp also witnessed series of training sessions as the coaching staff headed by coach Badar al Maimani and his assistant Sultan al Toqi focused on the technical and tactical sides beside putting their touches on the starting list who will represent the team in the coming Asian qualifiers assignment.
Earlier in last month, the Oman Olympic U-23 national football team concluded their ten-day overseas training camp in Russia. The Moscow’s gathering camp featured three friendly matches including two against the Russia Olympic team and one against Saturn Ramenskoye FC. The first match ended in a 1-0 loss for Oman, followed by a goalless draw in the second encounter. The final match against Saturn Ramenskoye FC ended with a narrow 1-0 win for the latter. Despite the match results, coaching staff assessed the player readiness, experiment with lineups and address both offensive and defensive strategies. Furthermore, the players gained valuable experience competing against strong international sides and the camp enhanced team cohesion and on-field communication.
Oman team will compete in Group F alongside Iraq, Pakistan and hosts Cambodia at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers. The qualification matches will run from September 1 to 9, with Oman opening their campaign against Cambodia on September 3, facing Iraq on September 6 and concluding against Pakistan on September 9. The group winners and the best four runners-up across all groups will qualify for the finals, joining the host nation Saudi Arabia.
Oman U-23 squad:
Jawad al Azi, Osama al Mahrouqi, Nasser al Saqri, Sameer al Hatmi, Said al Ghanbousi, Mohammed Abdulhakim, Abdulaziz al Shaqsi, Loqman al Jadidi, Abdullah al Jabri, Rashad al Dhaeen, Essa al Buraidi, Osama Majdi, Ziyad al Rasbi, Mohammed al Oraibi, Nayef Faraj, Sultan al Marzooq, Turki Abdullah, Ahed al Mashakheyi, Abdulaleem al Rawahi, Ali al Balushi, Abdulhadi al Manwari, Ibrahim al Kindi, Masoud al Bahri, Hamed al Naimi and Yassar al Balushi.
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