OMAN
Head Coach: Hamad Al-Azani
Player To Watch: Jameel Al Yahmadi
Oman are clearly the favourites to win this group and maybe even challenge for the overall crown, given the sheer amount of quality players at their disposal. From Mohsen Saleh to Moatez Saleh to Jameel Al Yahmadi, it’s difficult to imagine Oman to finding the back of the net in this tournament.
The fact that they topped a group that featured Iran during the qualifying stages speaks volumes about this particular team. There’s a degree of feel good factor within the team too, especially given that several players from this squad also played in the recently concluded Gulf Cup, where Oman did well.
Trivia!
Oman have never progressed to the knock-out stages of the AFC U-23 Championship. They exited the tournament after defeats to Jordan and South Korea in the group stages back in 2014, before completely failing to qualify for the 2016 edition.