National team plays Lebanon ahead of Asian Cup

AMMAN  — Jordan’s national football team is set to play three friendlies in the next two weeks as they prepare for the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar kicking off on January 12, 2024 where the Kingdom will play in Group E alongside Malaysia, Bahrain and South Korea.

As national sides start the countdown to the Asian Cup, Jordan faces Lebanon in Tripoli on Thursday where the lineup is set to be joined by some pros playing abroad. Montepellier’s Mousa Ta’mari, Yazan Arab and Yazeed Abu Laila will miss the first friendly following which the squad will return home to play the U-23 national side ahead of coach Hussein Amouta’s final lineup list for the Asian Cup. The team then leaves to Qatar where they will play their hosts on January 5 and Japan on January 9 in the final two friendlies.

In six matches played so far, Jordan is yet to score a victory under coach Amouta, who took over the job in summer. Interviewed by Al Mamlaka TV on Wednesday, the Moroccan coach acknowledged, “The team lost many scoring chances, had individual mistakes  and players had been inconsistent with their clubs which clearly reflected on their performance, especially in the official matches.”

It will be vital for Jordan to alter their performance and start to score wins. In their first friendlies under Amouta, Jordan lost 6-0 to Norway, 2-1 to Azerbaijan, 3-1 to Iran and tied Iraq 2-2 before losing on penalties. Many players noted the lineup was getting more coherent and adapting to new coach’s strategy and style who has announced his eventual aim would be “to have a younger competitive group who can serve the national team for upcoming years”. 

As official matches kicked off, Jordan had a lackluster start in Group G qualifiers for the 23rd World Cup 2026, tying Tajikistan 1-1 before losing 2-0 to Saudi Arabia. Jordan is now 3rd in the World Cup qualifying group after Saudi beat Pakistan 4-0 while Tajikistan beat Pakistan 6-1. The Kingdom’s third qualifier against Pakistan is set for March 26. The qualifiers also advance teams to the 2027 Asian Cup.

A total of 36 Asian teams are playing in 9 groups with the top two teams from each group advancing to Round 3. Jordan is now ranked 87th, Saudi 56th, Tajikistan 106th and Pakistan 195th.

In a candid interview, Amouta told Al Mamlaka’s Muhannad Mahadeeen, a former national squad star, that a local coach will be assigned to assist him soon, adding the team needed a “leader figure on the field”.

Amouta added he “was hopeful and ambitious for an advanced spot in the upcoming Asian Cup, as well as qualifying to the 2026 World Cup”, Amouta, with Asia allotted 8 slots in the next edition in additional to a zonal qualifier after expanding the number to include 48 nations.

The Asian Cup will see 24 teams playing in 6 Groups with Qatar the defending champs:

• Group A: Qatar, China, Tajikistan, Lebanon 
• Group B: Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria, India
• Group C: Iran, UAE, Hong Kong, Palestine
• Group D: Japan, Indonesia, Iraq, Vietnam
• Group E: Jordan vs Malaysia (Jan 15),  vs South Korea (Jan 20), vs Bahrain (Jan 25)
• Group F: Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Oman