MUSCAT: Oman’s national under-17 football team bowed out of the 13th West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U17 Championship after suffering a 1-0 defeat to the United Arab Emirates in their second Group B match at Aqaba Stadium in Jordan on Tuesday evening.
The young Red Warriors entered the match needing a positive result to keep their semifinal hopes alive after losing 3-1 to hosts Jordan in their opening encounter on Sunday. However, a late UAE goal settled the contest and brought Oman’s campaign to an early end.
The match remained closely contested for much of the 90 minutes, with both sides looking for the breakthrough. Oman sought to recover from their opening defeat and stay in contention, but the UAE eventually found the decisive goal in the closing stages to claim all three points.
The result lifted the UAE to three points, level with Jordan, while Oman completed their two group matches without a point. Jordan had earlier defeated Oman 3-1, with Bashar al Shamsi scoring Oman’s goal in the ninth minute before the hosts responded through Faisal al Hourani, who struck twice, and Jameel al Issa.
With Oman eliminated, Jordan and the UAE have both secured their places in the semifinals. The two teams will meet on Thursday at 6 pm Jordan time to determine the winners and runners-up of Group B.
The tournament format sees the top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. The Group A winners will face the runners-up from Group B in the semifinals, while the Group B winners will take on the runners-up from Group A. The winners of the two semifinals will progress to the final on October 5.
Despite the early exit, the championship provided Oman’s coaching staff with two competitive regional matches as part of the team’s wider preparation programme. The tournament in Aqaba has been viewed as an important opportunity for the players to gain international experience ahead of their next continental assignment.
FOCUS ON U17 ASIAN CUP
Oman will now turn their attention to the AFC U17 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2027 Qualifiers, where the Sultanate of Oman will host Group G in Salalah from November 8 to 20. Oman have been drawn alongside Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon and Brunei Darussalam, with only the group winners progressing to the continental finals.
The WAFF U17 Championship is also set to take on greater significance from its next edition, with the competition expected to serve as a direct pathway to the AFC U17 Asian Cup finals. The top four teams will earn direct qualification to the continental tournament under the new arrangement.
For Oman, the focus will now shift towards addressing the lessons from the two matches in Aqaba and stepping up preparations ahead of the Asian qualifying campaign on home soil.
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