U-23 football team plays local friendlies

AMMAN  — The Kingdom’s U-23 football team will play two friendlies this week as it starts the final countdown to the Olympic qualifying journey starting March 25.

The team hosted Oman last week, losing the first match 2-1 before jumping back to win the second encounter 1-0. 

Head coach Jamal Abu Abed said all friendlies were very important before hosting Asian teams ahead of the qualifiers next month.

“All players will have a chance to play in upcoming friendlies as we aim to finalise the line-up soon,” noted Abu Abed, adding that younger players were on par with their teammates who also play on the senior national team.

In the U-23 qualifiers, Jordan will play in Group B alongside hosts Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kuwait hoping to qualify for the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship which will take place in Qatar. A total of 43 teams entered the qualifiers and will play in 10 groups of five or four teams.

The top team from each of the nine groups in addition to the top second-placed team from groups that have five teams will move to the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship from which the top three advance to the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Last year, Jordan took bronze in the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship after beating South Korea. The event, which has now been renamed the AFC U-23 Championship, saw Iraq beat Saudi Arabia to take the title.

The U-23 team also represented Jordan at the Asian Games where it reached the quarter-finals despite a bumpy preparation period amid the busy agenda of the national team as well as local clubs. Jordan was impressive as the team topped Group G with three wins. In Round 1, Jordan beat the UAE 1-0 win and India 2-0. In Round 2, the team beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0 in extra time. In the quarters, it lost to Thailand 2-0.

Following the Asian Games, the coach recalled other players, including five from the senior national team with the hope of further consolidating the line-up. 

In local friendlies, the team lost to Wihdat 2-0, tied Jazira 1-1 and beat Shabab Urdun 2-1. In regional friendlies, Jordan beat Uzbekistan 2-1, and held Iran, 2-2 and 1-1, Kuwait, 1-1 twice, and Qatar, 0-0. The team finished second at the Palestine International Championship and hosted the England C squad in a historic match, losing 1-0.