Jordan loses another friendly ahead of Asian Cup

By Aline Bannayan - Jan 04,2015 - Last updated at Jan 04,2015

AMMAN — Jordan lost 1-0 to Bahrain on Sunday in the final friendly before the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2015 Asian Cup kicks off on January 9.

It was the third defeat in a row over the past 10 days after the team lost 1-0 to the UAE in Gold Coast, Australia, and also 2-1 to Uzbekistan in Dubai. Bahrain is on a good note after it beat Saudi Arabia 4-1 this week and held Iraq and Uzbekistan 0-0.

The latest defeat cast additional doubt for fans as to the competitive readiness of the Jordanian squad, who will play in Group D against Iraq on January 12, Palestine on January 16 and Japan on January 20.

The defeats were compounded with the injury of star goalie Amer Shafie in the last match. Coach Waleed Mikhail underlined all options, saying that “other goalies took part in most friendlies. They are all ready to step in if needed”.

Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, this will be Jordan’s third time at the Asian Cup finals. The Kingdom rached the quarters in 2004 and 2011.

A total of 16 teams are set to compete in the Asian Cup.

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