Jordan set to arrive in Tajikistan for start of qualifiers

AMMAN  — Jordan’s national football team is set to arrive in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on Monday to play their first Group B qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup as well.

Jordan will play Tajikistan on June 11 before playing Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan and Australia while seeking to advance in both competitions.

The Kingdom’s team travelled to Tajikistan after concluding a training camp in Turkey where it played its Kuwaiti counterparts in a match that ended 2-2. Jordan also hosted Lebanon last week and was held 0-0. It is also set to host Trinidad and Tobago after its first qualifier. 

“We are content with our latest friendlies. Winning was important, but the fact that the team has improved from one friendly to the other is satisfying,” Head Coach Ahmad Abdul Qader told the press as the team was en route to Dubai before resuming their flight to Tajikistan.

He added he “had finalised the line-up and was confident of advancing in the upcoming qualifier”.

Jordan is at 103rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings and is 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 squad dropped out of the top 100 in March after two friendlies in which they lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia and 1-0 to Syria. In their last official competition, Jordan failed to reach the quarters of the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. It was their third time at the finals since first taking part in 1972.

Jordan’s best ever FIFA ranking was 37th in 2004 after reaching the Asian Cup quarter final when they 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 this far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in its qualifiers in 1985. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times.