Jordan hosts N. Korea ahead of World Cup Round 3 qualifiers

AMMAN — The national football team regrouped on Saturday as coach  Jamal Sellamy named the lineup that will be finalised after playing North Korea in two upcoming friendlies in  preparation for Round 3 of 2026 World Cup qualifiers kicking off on  September 5.

Jordan will host the Korean team on August 27 and  August 29, but the squad has little time to  fully regroup to play the first two qualifiers against Kuwait on September 5 in Amman before travelling to Malaysia to play Palestine on September 10.

Stars playing abroad like Mousa Ta’mari who plays for France’s Montpellier and Yazan Al Arab, who just joined the Korean league, will miss the Korea matches. Yazan Nue’imat who just joined Qatar’s Arabi, as well as Nour Rawabdeh and Ali Alwan, playing in the Malaysian league are expected to join the team this week. 

Currently 68th in FIFA rankings, Jordan has played 110 ranked Korea  in 6 previous official and friendly matches winning two, losing three and drawing once.

The Jordan Football Association announced the lineup over the weekend  as coach Sellamy told the media the matches against Korea will be vital ahead of the qualifiers. The “latest training camp in Turkey and monitoring the league matches over the past three weeks has helped to zoom in on the players most ready to represent the national team.”

“This is the start of the critical stage of qualifying and the players chosen are the best at this stage. Any player who proves they are better for the national squad will be recalled at any stage.” Sellamy told the media.

Round 3 includes 18 teams playing in three groups in home and away format from September 5, 2024 to June 10, 2025 with the top two from each group advancing directly to the World Cup while the rest will play Round 4 in two groups with group leaders advancing and a possible ninth team advancing through intercontinental playoffs.

Jordan will be playing in  Group B alongside Kuwait, Palestine, Oman, Iraq and South Korea. Group A includes Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, UAE, Kyrgyzstan, and North Korea, while Group C includes Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China and Indonesia.

The Kingdom advanced to Round 3 for the second time in its history after they finished atop Group G Asian qualifiers. The squad is led by Moroccan coach Sellamy, who replaced compatriot Hussein Ammouta, who resigned citing “personal circumstances” although he has now signed a lucrative contract in the UAE, drawing huge criticism as observers noted the Jordan Football Association acted in good faith for his reasons given and waived his  break fee for early breach of contract.

However, Ammouta will be remembered as the coach who led Jordan to a first ever AFC Asian Cup final seeing off former Asian champs Korea and Iraq, among others, before losing to hosts Qatar in the final earlier this year. Jordan’s previous best past performance was reaching the Asian Cup quarterfinals in 2004 and 2011. 

Jordan has now booked their spot for the next edition of the 2027 Asian Cup. The squad’s mental edge and competitive style and strategy on the pitch has clearly shifted and expectations are high they can make it the World Cup for the first time with FIFA expanding the format to include 16 more teams in the upcoming 2026 World Cup edition.   

Since 1986, Jordan is participating in World Cup qualifiers for the 7th time. The team was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup when they advanced to play then FIFA 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie before exiting. Jordan had never reached that far in qualifying with Round 3 being the furthest they reached in other editions.