Oman U17 team clubbed with Qatar, UAE and Yemen

MUSCAT: Oman Under-17 football team was clubbed with Qatar, UAE and Yemen teams in Group A of Gulf Cup Championship, which will take place from September 20 to October 2 in Qatar. The draw for the Gulf event in its 21st edition was organised under the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) at the headquarters of the federation in Doha city on Wednesday. The ceremony, held virtually via Zoom, was attended by representatives of the participating national teams.

Hamed al Hajri conducted the draw, providing a detailed explanation of the procedures, including the seeding mechanism and the allocation of teams based on international rankings. As hosts, Qatar were automatically placed at the top of Group A, while Iraq were seeded as the leaders of Group B. Iraq led Group B besides Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait teams in Group B. The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals.

The Oman team stars will eye to compete for the Gulf title. This event is a great chance for the junior players to foster regional unity and to have a competitive platform to gain international exposure.

The qualifying event will run from November 22 to 30.

On the other hand, the Oman U17 team is gearing up for another crucial assignment of the AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers Saudi Arabia 2026. The junior Red Warriors will play against Afghanistan, Syria, Nepal and hosts Myanmar in Group G of the qualifiers.

The qualifying event for the 21st edition of the continental tournament will run from November 22 to 30 and will be contested in a single round-robin by centralised format. A total of 38 teams have been divided into seven groups, with three groups comprising six teams and four groups including five teams. All group winners will progress to the 21st edition of the finals, where they will join the nine AFC representatives from the Fifa U17 World Cup Qatar 2025 who have automatically qualified including: Qatar, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Korea Republic, DPR Korea, Japan, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.

Oman, crowned champions twice in the past, will be looking to secure their place in the finals for what would be their 12th appearance in the tournament's history. Their debut came in 1994, where they captured third place after a 3-2 victory over Bahrain.