MUSCAT, July 28
The Oman Under-17 team was placed in the first pot for the upcoming AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers draw which is scheduled to take place on August 7 at the headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Being seeded in Pot 1 was based to the national team's results in the last edition of AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia besides the 2023 edition of the same event.
The top-seeded teams in Pot 1 included: Oman, Australia, Yemen, Iran, Thailand, China and Vietnam. These teams are considered regional powerhouses based on their recent performances and rankings at the continental level. The draw will also include teams placed in other pots according to their seeding as Pot 2 featured teams of Afghanistan, India, Malaysia, Iraq, Bangladesh, Laos and Kuwait.
Bahrain are placed in Pot 3 besides Myanmar, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Palestine. Pot 4 comprised Syria, Mongolia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Jordan, Chinese Taipei and Brunei while Pot 5 saw teams of Nepal, Bhutan, Mariana Islands, Guam, Maldives, Timor-Leste and Lebanon. The last and concluding Pot 6 included: Macau, Sri Lanka and Pakistan teams.
The qualifying matches are scheduled for November 2025 as the top teams will book their tickets to the AFC U17 Asian Cup finals while it is expected to be opportunities for the best runners up to join the teams in the Asian finals.
In preparation for the qualifiers, the Oman Football Association (OFA) is expected to announce a new coaching team soon following the replacement of coach Anwar al Habsi, the former head coach. The announcement will be part of the OFA’s wider plan to enhance technical readiness and ensure optimal performance during the qualifiers.
Oman’s U17 side showed solid performance during the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025 which was held earlier in April. Despite the top performance by Oman team boys, the team narrowly missed out on qualification to the Fifa U17 World Cup. Oman began their campaign with a 2-1 loss to Tajikistan, but bounced back impressively with a historic 2-1 win over Iran, followed by a 2-2 draw with North Korea. Unfortunately, the result against North Korea meant Oman finished third in Group D with four points, just one short of North Korea’s five points, who advanced as group runners-up. Tajikistan topped the group after stunning Iran 3-1 in the final group match.
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