Sports

Raheem Sterling’s fierce 82nd-minute volley saved 10-man Manchester City from defeat as they drew 1-1 at home to Everton on Monday after Wayne Rooney had put the visitors ahead at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s City had been forced to play the entire second half with a man down after Kyle Walker was sent off for a second yellow card on the stroke of halftime.

The numbers were eventually evened up late on when Everton’s Morgan Schneiderlin was also sent off, again for a second bookable offence, in the 88th minute

Although Everton delivered a determined and tactically astute display, a draw was fair reward for City who had launched waves of attacks throughout the second half.

Rooney was set to be the hero after his second goal in as many games this season. The strike was his 200th in the Premier League, making him just the second player after former England forward Alan Shearer to reach that milestone.

City, who have spent more than £200 million ($258.00 million) so far in the transfer window, fielded an attacking line-up with Leroy Sane given the left wing-back role, while Everton manager Ronald Koeman selected eight English players including youngsters Mason Holgate and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Not surprisingly it was the home side who posed the early threats and Everton defender Phil Jagielka was forced to head over his own bar in the 26th minute to clear a Sergio Aguero chip.

Skipper Jagielka saved the day from more Aguero danger seven minutes later when his outstretched leg foiled the Argentine as he burst goalwards.

For City, everything was coming through Aguero, who turned creator with a beautiful pass with the outside of his foot to David Silva. The Spaniard collected and fired a fierce shot which hammered into the post.

Within a minute of almost going a goal down though, Everton took the lead when Rooney, the former Manchester United forward whose every touch was booed by the Etihad crowd, struck.

Leroy Sane gave the ball away in his own half and Holgate fed Calvert-Lewin who showed a clever touch to wriggle space for a low cross into the path of Rooney whose side-footed shot went through the legs of City’s Brazilian keeper Ederson.

Rooney celebrated his strike with passion and cupped ears for City’s fans.

Matters got worse for City, a minute before the interval, when Walker, making his home debut following his move from Tottenham, was dismissed after his challenge on Calvert-Lewin, a decision that City disputed.

Despite City’s numerical disadvantage, there was little change in the pattern of the game after the break with Guardiola’s team pouring forward, but clearcut chances were hard to find against a well-organised Everton defence.

Substitute Sterling should have done better in the 75th minute, but blasted high over the bar from a promising position and then another replacement, Danilo, forced Jordan Pickford into a save with a low drive from a tight angle.

But Guardiola was saved from an opening home defeat when Sterling met a headed clearance from Holgate and unleashed an unstoppable volley. 

Despite Schneiderlin’s contentious dismissal for a foul on Aguero, Everton held firm in the final stages, even after as City went all out for a win.

AMMAN — Top seed Mohammad Serraj delighted his home fans by winning the Asian U-19 Squash Championships in Amman on Saturday night, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Serraj clinched the title with a 3-2 win over Pakistan’s Mansour Zamman to underline his status as one of the world’s top teenagers.

Japan’s Satomi Watanbi took the Female U-19 title by beating Ho Weng 3-0. The U-17 female title went to Hong Kong’s Chan Yuk after beating her compatriot Loi Lam 3-0.

The U-15 male title went to Malaysia’s Mohammad Amir who beat India’s Neil Jushi 3-1. Jessica King of India took the female title by beating another Indian Kiroshana Haran, 3-0.

The excitable Nick Kyrgios made short work of top-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal in a dazzling 6-2, 7-5 victory on Friday at the Cincinnati Open.

In a highly-anticipated quarter-final matchup, Australian Kyrgios breezed past the 15-times Grand Slam champion Nadal in about one hour and 20 minutes.

“He obviously is a tough match always,” Nadal told reporters. “Nick is a great player, but I played poorly. 

“I started the match well and then I played a very bad game in the second set when he broke me. I played some good points. He had some mistakes and I was able to be back in the match. And then I played a terrible game. So it was a bad match for me.”

Despite the defeat, the 31-year-old Nadal will for the fourth time in his career be the world number one when the ATP rankings come out next week.

The 22-year-old Kyrgios recorded 10 aces in a strong serving display, and moved to the semi-final to face David Ferrer, who produced another shocking result in dominating third-seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-3.

Kyrgios, known as much for his temper as for his brilliant shot-making, was poised against Nadal.

The young contender blew a chance to close the match while serving at 5-4 in the second set when Nadal broke him. But he promptly broke back before closing out the night. 

Earlier in the day, Kyrgios completed his match, that began on Thursday before it was held over due to rain, defeating hard-serving Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3.

Kyrgios did have an outburst in that match when he threw his racquet down in disgust after losing two straight service points in the tiebreak to even it up at 6-6.

The outburst appeared to work as he won the next two points and then dominated a deflated Karlovic in the final set.

Nadal was somewhat rusty in beating fellow countryman Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(1), 6-2 earlier in the day but few would have expected his result against Kyrgios.

On the other side of the draw, red-hot American John Isner beat countryman Jared Donaldson 7-6(4), 7-5 to set up a semi-final against seventh-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who sailed past Japan’s Yuichi Sugita 6-2, 6-1.

Fourth-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza won a lengthy battle against Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-2, 5-7 7-5 on a hot and windy day on Friday to reach the Cincinnati Open semi-finals. 

Wimbledon champion Muguruza stuck out her tongue in exasperation after finally prevailing in the two hour 45-minute contest between the two Grand Slam winners. 

Playing a day after deadly attacks killed a total of 14 people in Barcelona and the coastal town of Cambrils in Spain, Muguruza wore a white visor with a black ribbon as a tribute. 

“Barcelona te siento. Barcelona I feel you,” Muguruza wrote on Twitter after the match. 

Muguruza next faces world number one Karolina Pliskova, who won back-to-back matches on Friday. 

The Czech first defeated Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 in a match postponed by a day because of rain.

The top seed then took another step towards successfully defending her title by overpowering former world number one Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 in her second match.

Pliskova had 27 winners to Wozniacki’s eight with only 13 unforced errors compared to the sixth-seeded Dane’s 19. 

Second seed Simona Halep also beat Britain’s Johanna Konta for the first time in an exciting back and forth 6-4, 7-6(1) victory.

Halep capitalised on a service break in the first set and then raced out to a 4-1 lead in the second before Konta fought back to send it into a tie-break.

The Romanian, however, dominated the tie-break to set up a semifinal match against American Sloane Stephens.

The American continued her strong form following her return at Wimbledon after an 11-month absence with a foot injury by defeating Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-1, 7-6(3).

Stephens had earlier beaten Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

AMMAN — What a start for Jordan who won two gold medals at the 3rd Japan Youth International Karate Championships being held in Tokyo, the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service said on Saturday.

Youngster Abdullah Hammad triumphed in the -55kg followed by another gold achieved by Nasser Fathi in the juniors -64kg weight. And there was a silver medal for Ali Ismael in the +76kg while a further bronze was won by Saleh Al Sawalha in the 70kg category. The team competition will complete the tournament tomorrow. The Japanese event has attracted 28 countries from all over the world.

AMMAN —  The General Assembly for the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) has elected HRH Prince Feisal to serve another four-year term as its president, following an election held at Al Hussein Youth City, the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service announced on Wednesday.

Prince Feisal was first elected as the JOC president in 2003, and has overseen a huge transformation in the way sport is managed in the Kingdom. He became an International Olympic Committee Member in 2010. 

The Prince will be joined by 17 members on the new board which is made up of distinguished members, representatives from Olympic and non-Olympic sports and two former Olympic athletes. Three females will serve, including the Prince’s daughter, HRH Princess Ayah Bint Al Feisal, who presides over the Jordan Volleyball Federation. 

As the leading organisation for sport in Jordan, the JOC launched a dynamic and far reaching first national sporting strategy earlier this year with the aim of raising the level of the sector as a whole.  

Jordanian performances have been improving on the international stage with record medal hauls achieved at the Asian Beach Games and Islamic Solidarity Games since the country achieved its first ever Olympic medal through Ahmad Abu Ghaush’s historic taekwondo gold in Rio de Janeiro last summer.

Garbine Muguruza got her final US Open tune-up event off to a flying start as the Wimbledon champion stormed by Brazilian qualifier Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 6-0 to reach the third round of the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday.

Second seed Simona Halep overcame an early deficit to beat American qualifier Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-1 and also reach the third round, while Venus Williams beat Alison Riske 6-2, 6-0 to advance to the second.

French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko was upset 6-4, 6-2 in the first round by unseeded Serbian Aleksandra Krunic and Agnieszka Radwanska, seeded 10th, was another to suffer an early exit, losing 6-4, 6-4 to German Julia Gorges.

Spanish fourth seed Muguruza, fresh off a quarter-finals loss to eventual winner Elina Svitolina at Toronto last week, needed only 65 minutes to earn the straight sets win over Haddad Maia and book her spot in the round of 16.

After trading breaks with Haddad Maia over the course of the first four games, Muguruza found another gear and went on to win the final 10 games of the match.

“I felt like a lot of games were super tight. She’s super tall, big serve with big shots. It was a strange result, because the match was pretty good,” said World No. 6 Muguruza.

“I feel like yesterday I was playing on the grass, and now I’m here. I’m happy to be in the third round here.”

Muguruza now awaits the winner of Wednesday’s clash between American 16th seed Madison Keys and Russian Daria Kasatkina.

Romanian Halep, the 2015 Cincinnati runner-up, fell behind early but reeled off four consecutive games, including two love service holds, to clinch the opening set and remained in control the rest of the way.

Halep will next face Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, who earlier rallied to beat China’s Peng Shuai 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Williams was aggressive from the start and only got better as the match went on, stepping in and finishing rallies at the net.

Fashion-conscious Williams’ biggest struggle on the court may have been with her jewellery after her hoop earring fell off at one point and later got tangled with her necklace.

The win set up a second round match-up against Australian Ashleigh Barty, who beat American Varvara Lepchenko earlier on Tuesday.

Del Potro makes winning return

Juan Martin del Potro made a winning return to the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday when the Argentine ground out a 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-0 victory over 10th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych to reach the second round on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old, back in Cincinnati after a four-year absence from the US Open warmup event, powered down 17 aces to rally past Berdych after he surrendered the opening set following a listless start.

Berdych found his rhythm early in the match and broke Del Potro for a 3-1 lead and did not lose a point on his powerful serve until the 10th game.

But as Del Potro, a semifinalist at the tournament in 2012 and 2013, worked his way back into the match, Berdych slowly began to lose confidence and failed to win a single game in the deciding set.

“During the second set, in the end, I played my best tennis,” 2009 US Open champion Del Potro told reporters. “I hit so sure with my forehand. I made good serves and I took all my chances to win.

“Mentally, I was strong enough to keep fighting and I think he got down after losing that second set. Then, when I broke his serve early in the third [set], my game started improving and I played much better than him.”

Del Potro advances to meet American qualifier Mitchell Krueger in the second round.

Australian Nick Kyrgios also opened his campaign with a welcome victory as the World No. 23 beat Belgian ninth seed David Goffin 6-2, 6-3 in the afternoon heat to reach the second round.

Other than in the first game when he had to climb out of a 0-40 hole, Kyrgios experienced few problems on serve and even secured three breaks against Goffin, who had to take a medical time out for a knee injury during the match.

“He obviously wasn’t at 100 per cent today but you know I’m not at 100 per cent either, so it was a bit of a battle,” said Kyrgios, who has struggled with an array of injuries throughout the season.

“But I served well at crucial moments. I’m feeling okay. I think as long as I can keep putting in performances like these and being able to compete I think I’m okay.”

In other action, third seed Dominic Thiem of Austria was barely tested in his 6-3, 6-2 second-round win over Italy’s Fabio Fognini, while Jack Sock beat fellow American Tommy Paul 6-3, 6-3 to reach the round of 16.

Earlier in the day, big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic, the sixth seed, announced his withdrawal from the tournament due to a lingering left wrist injury.

AMMAN — The second football competition of the season — the Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield — kicks off on Thursday as the 2017/18 football season gets into full swing.

The season started last weekend when Jordan Professional Football League and Jordan Cup champs Faisali beat runners-up Jazira 2-1 to win the 35th Jordan Super Cup — the first major competition on the 2017/18 football calendar.

Faisali just returned from the Arab Championship where they finished runners-up to Tunisia’s Tarajji after an impressive performance, which included two wins over Egyptian veterans Ahli. Jazira who were about to win the league last season, are hoping to capture as local titles. 

The league teams will play in three groups: Jazira, newcomers Aqaba, Shabab Urdun and Manshieh are in Group A, while Group B includes Baqa’a, Yarmouk, Hussein and Faisali and Group C includes Ahli, That Ras, Wihdat and Ramtha. The top team from each group as well as the best second placed team move to the knock-out semifinal round.

The JFA brought back the Shield on the calendar last year following an absence of four seasons. Faisali, twice winner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup, won the league and Jordan Cup titles last year while Ahli beat Wihdat to win the Super Cup and Shabab Urdun won the JFA Shield.

Looking back at the history of the Shield tournament, Wihdat are a record eight time winners, Faisali (7), Ramtha (5), Hussein (3), Jazira and Amman and Shabab Urdun twice each, Kufrsoum and Yarmouk once each. Hussein were finalists seven times. Amman, have since scrapped football, while Qadissieh were relegated and have since merged with Shabab Urdun.

The winner will get JD15,000 in prize money ahead of the Jordan Football Association League and Jordan Cup kick off on September 7 and September 18 respectively.

JFA Shield record

(Runner-up in parenthesis)

1981 — Jazira (Wihdat)

1982 — Wihdat (Amman)

1983 — Wihdat (Ramtha)

1984 — Amman (Hussein)

1985 — Amman (Faisali

1986 — Jazira (Faisali)

1987 — Faisali (Wihdat)

1988 — Wihdat (Hussein)

1989 — Ramtha (Wihdat)

1990 — Ramtha (Hussein)

1991 — Faisali (Wihdat)

1992 — Faisali (Hussein)

1993 — Ramtha (Qadissieh)

1994 — Hussein (Faisali) 

1995 — Wihdat (Jalil)

1996 — Ramtha (Hussein)

1997 — Faisali (Wihdat)

1998 — Kufrsoum (Hussein)

1999 —  not held

2000 — Faisali (Shabab Al Hussein)

2001 — Ramtha (Baqa’a)

2002 — Wihdat (Faisali)

2003 — Hussein (Shabab Al Hussein)

2004 — Wihdat (Hussein)

2005 — Hussein (Faisali)

2006 —Yarmouk (Wihdat)

2007 — Shabab al Urdun (Jazira)

2008 —Wihdat (Baqa’a)

2009 — Faisali (Arabi)

2010 —Wihdat (Jazira)

2011 — Faisali (Shabab Urdun)

2012 — 2015 --Not held

2016 — Shabab Urdun (Faisali)

ST LOUIS — Twelve years after trading chess for politics, Garry Kasparov proved on Monday that time had not dulled his edge as he battled to a draw three times with a fellow Russian half his age in the opening game of a keenly anticipated comeback.

The 54-year-old Kasparov, whose genius has left a wide mark on the history of chess, has briefly come out of retirement “kicking and fighting” to compete this week at the Rapid and Blitz tournament in St Louis.

It remains to be seen whether he can beat a new generation of players or if he will instead pass the torch.

In a fitting turn of events, his first encounter against compatriot Sergey Karjakin had shades of Kasparov’s own breakthrough moment in 1985 when, aged 22, he defeated the legendary Russian grandmaster Anatoli Karpov to become the youngest champion in history.

This time around, it was Kasparov who represented the old guard against Karjakin the young pretender, who narrowly lost last year’s world championship to Magnus Carlsen, the top-ranked player who is not in St Louis this week.

Three games of speed chase between Kasparov and Karjakin ended in a draw each time. 

“I’m quite pleased. The plan was to survive to day one. I had to adjust myself to this new reality, to this atmosphere. I’m happy with these draws. I will be more aggressive tomorrow,” Kasparov said.

Spectators were thrilled. “It was a wonderful game. Kasparov has been showing confidence, he has been very dramatic,” said 33-year-old Christopher Doty, a longtime Kasparov fan who travelled here from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to see his hero.

“Will he win? Of course not. But if Kasparov beats these kids, it will be an embarrassment for them.”

Since his March 2005 withdrawal from a tournament in Linares, Spain, Kasparov’s absence from the game has left many chess fanatics feeling orphaned.

So there was considerable surprise when he agreed to play in the event in St Louis, which follows closely after the annual Sinquefield Cup competition, a major stop on the world tour, in the same city on the Mississippi River. 

The years have greyed his temples, but Kasparov still exudes the aura of a winner — and the trademark gestures that defined his heyday in the 1980s and 1990s were all present on Monday.

He took off his watch, placing it to the left of the board. 

He placed his pieces on the board, one by one, in a meticulous and deliberate manner. The death stare was there too — Karjakin got one from Kasparov before the battle began.

Despite making clear the tournament represents a five-day “hiatus” from his political career, Kasparov said he was not taking it lightly.

“I realize that it’s serious. I will be the most desirable prey in the history of chess,” he said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

In a clear sign that Kasparov remained the center of attention, most of the 10 other competitors took a few seconds off from their games to come and see the man once dubbed the “Beast of Baku” in action.

“It was one of my dreams to play against him,” Karjakin said before their match, praising Kasparov as “one of the greatest players ever.”

Kasparov’s long and “unparalleled” dominance of the chess world made him “a cultural icon”, said Alejandro Ramirez, a US Open champion who coaches the chess team at Saint Louis University.

“His contribution to chess theory and our understanding of the game resonate still today,” said Ramirez.

Kasparov is nevertheless not expected to win the tournament, which includes four of the world’s top 10 players, according to French World No. 2 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who beat Carlsen last week at the Sinquefield Cup.

The high-pressure, speed-chess format of the St Louis tournament, where players are forced to make their moves far more rapidly than during normal competitions, could be tough on the graying Kasparov, as he takes on much younger players who specialise in that approach.

The man himself sought to “manage expectations”, quipping ahead of the game that “at the age of 54, I would have as much hope of returning to my chess form of age 40 as to my hairline of age 20!”

Though the winner’s purse in St Louis is a not-too-shabby $150,000, Kasparov said he would donate any winnings to promote chess in Africa.

Roger Federer reached the Rogers Cup semifinals on Friday after coming to the net early and often in a straight sets victory over Roberto Bautista Agut on a windy day in Montreal. 

World number three Federer, who faces Dutchman Robin Haase in the last four, was never seriously pushed by Spain’s Bautista Agut, who is winless in seven matches against the Swiss maestro. 

“I think it pays off playing aggressive here in Montreal,” Federer said in a courtside interview after his 6-4, 6-4 win over the 12th seed. 

“Plus I feel comfortable at the net so why not spend some time up there instead of slugging it out from the baseline?” 

Federer opened the second set with a break and cruised through the rest of the match, which lasted just over an hour. 

With world number two Rafael Nadal eliminated on Thursday by 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov and world number one Andy Murray sidelined by a rib injury, Federer has an opportunity to regain his World No. 1 ranking.

He would need to win the Rogers Cup and have an equal or better finish than Nadal at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati next week to become the World No. 1 on August 21. 

“Now that Rafa is out I know I can make big strides, especially if I was to go further than the semis here. But it’s all connected to great play,” said the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion. 

In the other quarter-finals, Shapovalov came from a set down to beat Adrian Mannarino of France 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Germany’s Alexander Zverev dismissed South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. 

Earlier, Haase recovered to defeat Argentine Diego Schwartzman 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in their quarter-final.

Wozniacki upsets Pliskova

Caroline Wozniacki defeated World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4 in a marathon Rogers Cup quarter-finals match in Toronto marred by four rain delays on Friday.

The delays, which all came during the first set, appeared to boost the sixth-seeded Dane, who was trailing 3-0 when the match was interrupted. 

Wozniacki appeared relaxed during the breaks, which gave her time to consult with her father and longtime coach Piotr Wozniacki, before she won five straight games and ultimately took the first set. 

“Almost every tournament I’ve played this year there has been a rain delay so at this point I just have to laugh because I feel like it is following me,” she said during a courtside interview after the three hour 26 minute match. 

“Every time this year when it has been raining I’ve had a great tournament, so I thought this must be luck.” 

The delays and Wozniacki’s solid all-around game appeared to throw off the big-serving Pliskova, who was playing in her first tournament since becoming the world number one.

The victory marks Wozniacki’s first career win against a World No. 1 and gives the 27-year-old a 6-2 advantage in head-to-head matches with Pliskova. 

Wozniacki next faces Sloane Stephens after the American beat Czech Lucie Safarova 6-2, 1-6, 7-5.

AMMAN — The national team stayed at 108th in the latest FIFA rankings issued on the weekend, as the team prepares to resume their Asian Cup qualifying journey following soon.

The squad is still out of the Asian top 10, trailing Iran (24), Japan (44), Australia (45), South Korea (49), Saudi Arabia (59), Uzbekistan (64), the UAE (74), China (77), Qatar (78), Syria (80), Palestine (93), India (97) and Iraq (102). 

Jordan’s best FIFA ranking was 37th in 2004 while the lowest ranking was 152nd in 1996.

Brazil, who booked a slot to the 2018 World Cup, leads World rankings at No. 1, followed by Germany, Argentina, Switzerland, Poland, Portugal, Chile, Columbia, Belgium, France and Spain. African semifinalist Egypt are the top-ranked Arab team at 25th, followed by Tunisia 34th, Algeria 48th and Morocco 60th.

Jordan is set to host Bahrain in a friendly on August 29 before resuming 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers against Afghanistan in September. 

Given the limited capabilities of their qualifying Group, qualifying to the 2019 Asian Cup should not be a difficult task for Jordan. However, officials note the need to return to the competitive Asian level. After elimination from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, advancing to the Asian finals is a priority. The Kingdom has steadily slid down FIFA rankings and the team has had an inconsistent two years compared to 2013 when Jordan was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup for the first time.

The team disappointed fans in their latest three matches which they should have won. Jordan lost 1-0 to Iraq in a friendly, managed a goalless draw with Hong Kong whom they had beat 4-0 earlier. The matches were intended to prepare the team for the Asian qualifier against Vietnam, which coaches and players expected to easily win. However, Jordan was held 0-0 with Vietnam in its second qualifier and returned home amid ambiguity over the team’s readiness. The squad still leads Group C after they scored 7-0 win over lowly Cambodia in its opening qualifier. Cambodia beat Afghanistan 1-0 while Vietnam held Afghanistan 1-1.

 The national team is set to play Afghanistan in its third qualifier on September 5 followed by two friendless against Kenya on September 17-19 before playing Oman on October 4 ahead of resuming return leg away qualifiers against Afghanistan on October 10, and Cambodia on October 14.

Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, Jordan reached the Asian Championship three times: the pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when they lost to Japan in the quarterfinals and jumped to the best ever FIFA rank of 37th in August 2004. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011 and 2015.

During the 2013 World Cup qualifying journey, Jordan advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. It however lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champs 0-0 in the away match. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the qualifiers. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times in the qualifiers since 1986.