Oman junior team edge Kuwait in friendly

Muscat, June 17

Oman U-17 football team edged Kuwait team 1-0 in a preparatory match late on Thursday at Al Shabab club’s Stadium in Kuwait city.

The only goal in the match was scored by Al Haitham al Shukaili three minutes prior to the final whistle. The preparatory encounter was part of Oman’s currently under way external warm up camp in Kuwait for the West Asian U-17 Championships which will be held in Jordan from Tuesday until June 30. Both teams will duplicate the friendly match again on Saturday at the same venue.

Oman’s Spanish coach Pablo Herrero Fernandez and his assistant coach Anwar al Habsi tested several players during the game to assess the players’ performance.

Moreover, the coaching staff implemented different tactical plans and put the final touches of selecting the starting line up ahead of Asian championships event.

Besides that the friendly game acted as an opportunity for players to get into real match experience after an interval. Also, the coaching staff ensured the readiness of all the players in the squad as the team will play three matches within five days and might be the chance for exhaustion, injury and replacement of players. Despite the shortage period of Kuwait camp which will conclude on Sunday, the coaching staff focused on maximising the technical output and to shape the players readiness ahead of West Asian assignment.

Oman will begin their campaign at West Asian U-17 Championships on Tuesday in Group A as they will take on the hosts Jordan in the opener.

In the following game, Oman Junior team will meet Iraq on Thursday. Then, Oman will conclude the group matches with an encounter against Yemen on June 25.

The West Asian U-17 Championships will be the primary official assignment for Spanish coach Pablo Herrero Fernandez, who began his career as head coach of the Oman national U-17 football team earlier this year. Coach Herrero Fernandez will target highly in this championship and secure advanced results.

Oman squad: Fernas al Jabri, Helmi al Balushi, Al Harith al Mushaikhi, Yasser al Balushi, Momen al Souli, Anas al Ghadani, Tamim al Buraiki, Hamza al Saadi, Jassim al Dhaeen, Marwan al Noobi, Emad al Hadi, Haitham Khareef, Al Hussain al Balushi, Abdullah al Maqbali, Mohammed al Balushi, Abdul Nasser al Hasani, Zaher al Aysari, Abdullah al Rawahi, Adnan al Mushaifri, Taha al Hinai, Al Haitham al Shukaili, Mohammed Ghanim and Syaf Mustafa.