Jordan 103rd in FIFA rankings

AMMAN — Jordan remained at 103rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings issued on Thursday as Germany remained atop the 10 leading teams followed by Belgium, Argentina, Columbia, Brazil, Netherlands, Portugal, Uruguay, France and Spain.

Jordan also stayed at 12th among Asian teams trailing Iran (41), Japan (52), South Korea (58),  Australia (63), the UAE (73), Uzbekistan (74), China (79), Iraq (86), Qatar (97), Saudi Arabia (98) and Oman (101). 

The national team is readying to play Kuwait on Friday in the second of two friendlies ahead of Group B qualifiers for  the 2018 World Cup in Russia doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup as well where it will play Tajikistan on June 11 before playing Australia, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh as it seeks to advance in both competitions.

Jordan hosted Lebanon last week and was held 0-0. It is also set to host Trinidad and Tobago after its first qualifier. Players underlined the need to improve performance and competitive in the upcoming phase. “We will spare no effort to put Jordan back at the forefront of Asian teams. We need a lot of focus,” goalie Amer Shafie was qouted by the press following practice at the training camp in Turkey.

His sentiments were echoed by Hasan Abdul Fattah who noted “the transitional phase was overcome by players’ determination to advance especially with upcoming regional competitions ahead”.

The squad dropped out of the top 100 in March after two friendlies in which it lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia and 1-0 to Syria. In its last official competition, Jordan failed to reach the quarters of the 2015Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. It was its third time at the finals since taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972.

Jordan’s best ever FIFA ranking was 37th  in 2004 after reaching the Asian Cup quarter-final when it lost to Japan. In 2011, Jordan again reached the quarter-finals.

The national team also had the most memorable World Cup qualifiers in 2013, when they played then 6th ranked Uruguay in their intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. It lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champs 0-0 in the away match, losing the chance to move to the World Cup for the first time. The Kingdom had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since first taking part in the qualifiers in 1985; Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times.