Jordan exits U-20 Asian Cup

AMMAN — Jordan exited the AFC U-20 Asian Cup after a goalless draw with Iraq on Wednesday in its last Group B match of the competition currently under way in Shenzhen, China. 

Although Iraq was down to 10 players on the pitch and Jordan was the better team with many scoring chances, the team failed to score. As Saudi Arabia came from 1-0 down to beat North Korea 2-1, they grabbed the top spot and qualified alongside Iraq  from the Group.

Jordan’s opening 1-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia contributed to its early exit, although they later beat North Korea 2-1 while Iraq held North Korea 1-1 and beat Saudi 1-0.

The top two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals while the tournament’s top four teams qualify from Asia to the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup.  Teams making it to the quarterfinals were Australia and hosts China who moved from Group A; Iran and holders Uzbekistan from Group C while South Korea and Japan moved from Group D.

It was  Jordan’s  9th time at the  U20 Asian Cup  finals with their best finish fourth place in 2006 when they qualified to the U20 World Cup in 2007. In previous editions, the team exited the group stages in 1977, 1978, 2008, 2010, 2018; exited the quarterfinals in 2012  and 2023. They did not qualify in 2014 and 2016.

The team includes a host of young stars who were recently also recalled to the senior team’s Doha training camp, headed by Ibrahim Sabra, who has been instrumental in Wihdat’s local land regional agenda in the AFC Champions League Two.

The U-20 Asian Cup, previously known as the AFC Youth Championship and AFC U-19 Championship, is a biennial competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and is a qualifying tournament to the U-20 World Cup.  South Korea is the record winning team with 12 titles. Among Arab teams Iraq won five times, Saudi three times, while Qatar, Syria and the UAE once each.

Officials were hoping Jordan’s U-20 squad would advance further in the competition as they strive on having a strong roaster for the  long term future of the national team. In other age divisions, Jordan was eliminated from Group A U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers in 2024 while the U-23 squad exited the 6th AFC U-23 Asian Cup – a qualifier to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.