U-23 squad plays Saudi at West Asian Championship

AMMAN — The U-23 national plays the host Saudi Arabia in Group 1 as the 5thWest Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship kicks off in Ahsaon on Wednesday.

The winner will advance to meet the winner from the Korea vs Thailand match in Group 2. Egypt and the UAE are in Group 3, while Australia and Iraq  play in Group 4. Group winners will move to the semis while the rest will play for positions 5-8.

This will be the fifth West Asian Championship. Qatar won in 2015, Jordan in 2021, Saudi Arabiain 2022 with Jordan missing that edition, and Iraq in 2023 when Jordan reached the semis.

Jordan’s coach Abdullah Abu Zam’eh underlined the importance of timing of the West Asianeventas“an excellent opportunity to prepare for the 6th AFC U-23 Asian Cup kicking off in Qatar” on April 15 which qualifies the top three teams to the Olympics while the fourth will play a play-off to advance.

“My task with this squad is clear. We aim to advance Jordan to the Olympic Games for the first time,” Abu Zam’eh noted. “We have challenges, but we have a great lineup that deserves to qualify,” he underlined.

The U-23 squad might not have had an exemplary preparation due to the  national team’s participation at the 2023 Asian Cup where Abu Zam’eh was recalled for assistant coach duty with the senior team. However, following Jordan’s performance at the Asian Cup,  Abu Zam’eh said the “achievement lifted expectations and put more pressure on the lineup, but also gave them motivation to strive for the best”.

The U-23 team  played a few friendlies as they prepared for their events including losing against Saudi, Qatar, Egypt in latest matches.  They played league leaders Hussein as well as the senior national team before leaving Amman.  

Following the West Asian event, the team is slated to play two friendlies against China and Vietnam, on April 7 and 9 before the U-23 Asian Cup where Jordan was drawn in Group A alongside hosts Qatar, Australia and Indonesia.

Group B includes Japan , Korea, UAE and China.

Group C includes Saudi Arabia, Iran, Thailand and Tajikistan;

Group D includes Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kuwait and Malaysia.