Muscat, Sept 10
Oman’s national under-17 football team has been drawn alongside hosts Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and China in Group A of the U-17 Gulf Cup Qatar 2026 following the official draw held by the Gulf Football Federation (GFF) on Thursday.
Group B features defending champions Saudi Arabia alongside Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen and Egypt, completing the line-up for the second edition of the regional age-group competition.
The tournament will take place in Qatar from October 16 to November 4 and will feature 10 national teams, the largest participation since the competition was launched. The eight member associations of the Gulf Football Federation will be joined by invited teams Egypt and China, adding an international dimension to this year’s championship.
Oman entered the draw from Pot 3 alongside Kuwait. Hosts Qatar and defending champions Saudi Arabia occupied Pot 1, while the UAE and Iraq were in Pot 2. Yemen and Bahrain formed Pot 4, with Egypt and China placed in Pot 5. Qatar were automatically positioned at the top of Group A, while Saudi Arabia headed Group B.
The competition will see the teams play a single round-robin group stage, with the top two sides from each group progressing to the semifinals. The winners of Group A will meet the runners-up of Group B, while the Group B winners will face the runners-up of Group A for places in the final. If a semifinal or the final ends level after normal time, the winner will be decided directly through a penalty shoot-out.
IMPORTANT STAGE
The presence of China will provide Oman with an additional high-level test. China are among the Asian teams already qualified for the Fifa U17 World Cup Qatar 2026, while hosts Qatar and defending Gulf champions Saudi Arabia have also secured places at the global tournament.
The Gulf Cup will form another important stage in Oman’s preparations for their main continental assignment later in the year. The young Red Warriors will compete in the AFC U17 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2027 Qualifiers from November 8 to 20, with Oman hosting Group G against Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon and Brunei Darussalam. Only the seven qualifying group winners will advance to the continental finals.
Oman will also be looking to improve on their performance in the inaugural U17 Gulf Cup in Qatar last year. The national side finished third in Group A with three points after defeats to the UAE and Qatar before ending their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Yemen.
Saudi Arabia enter the tournament as defending champions after defeating the UAE 2-0 in the 2025 final at Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha.
With the Gulf Cup coming shortly before the Asian qualifiers, the tournament will provide Oman’s technical staff with a valuable opportunity to assess the squad against strong regional and international opposition before turning their full attention to the qualification campaign.
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