Today, our U-17 football team faces its counterpart, the Nepal national team, in the second round of the sixth group competitions in the 2025 Asian Cup qualifiers, qualifying for the finals scheduled in Saudi Arabia from April 3 to 20 next.
Group Six includes Japan, the defending champion and winner of the tournament four times, and Nepal, which made its last continental appearance in the 2014 edition.
Al-Anabi is seeking to reach the sixth point, before facing the third and final round in the group, when it meets its counterpart, the Japanese national team, next Sunday, in order to decide the top spot in the group and snatch the direct ticket to the finals.
In a second match within the same group, the Japanese team will face its counterpart, the Mongolia team. Annabi had defeated Mongolia in the first round with two unanswered goals, while Japan beat Nepal 9-2.
The technical staff relies on a number of players, led by the Al Sadd trio Tamim Al Qadi, Sultan Majid and Faisal Saeed, in addition to the Al Duhail trio Saud Khamis, Yazan Hani and Adam Riyad.
The Qatari team hopes to win the three points in order to take the lead in the group and snatch the direct ticket to the finals.
For its part, the Nepal national team aspires to improve its position after the huge loss to Japan in the first round, and is well aware of the difficulty of its task.
The 43 teams participating in the qualifiers were divided into 10 groups, with seven groups containing four teams, compared to three groups containing five teams, with the qualifiers being held between October 19 and 27.
The first-place finishers in each of the ten groups, along with the five best second-placed teams, will qualify for the finals hosted by Saudi Arabia.
It is noteworthy that the 43 teams participating in the qualifiers were divided into 10 groups, with seven groups containing four teams, compared to three groups containing five teams, while the qualifiers will be held between 19 and 27 October.
The first-place finishers in each of the ten groups, along with the five best second-placed teams, will qualify for the finals hosted by Saudi Arabia.
