Kingdom remains in 110th spot in FIFA Rankings

AMMAN — Jordan remained in 110th spot when the latest FIFA Rankings were issued over the weekend, and the national team’s competitive form was further cast into doubt this month as it gears up for the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE. 

This month, Jordan’s coach Jamal Abu Abed was relieved of his duty by the Jordan Football Association after the team only managed a 0-0 tie with Oman and earlier lost to Lebanon 1-0.

The team’s inconsistent form as it gears up for the continent’s most important football event comes before they regroup to play Albania on October 10 and World Cup runner up Croatia on October 15. 

While the team’s path to the championship was not difficult against relatively unknown teams in the Asian continent now comes the serious part, the Asian Cup is a different story. Jordan will play alongside Australia, Syria and Palestine in Group B as 24 teams will play in six groups with the top two from each group and four third placed teams advance to the Round of 16. 

The Kingdom’s competitive edge is lacking and judging by FIFA Rankings, it seems there will be a tough task ahead. Once among the Asia top 10, Jordan is now 19th in the continent trailing Iran (33), Australia (43), Japan (54), South Korea (55), Saudi Arabia (71), Syria (74), China (76), the UAE (77), Lebanon (77), Oman (85), Iraq (89), Kyrgyzstan (91), Qatar (94), Uzbekistan (96), India (97), Palestine (100) Vietnam (102) and North Korea (109). Tunisia is the top-ranked Arab team at 23rd, followed by Morocco 45th, Egypt 64th, Algeria 69th and, Saudi Arabia 71st.

Belgium now shares top spot with World Cup champ France followed by Brazil, Croatia, Uruguay, England, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain and Denmark. 

Jordan is now lagging behind relatively uncompetitive Asian teams. Jordan ended 2017 at 107th — a position they did not better throughout last year. 

Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, Jordan reached the Asian Championship three times. The peak was at the 13th Asian Cup, when it lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37th in August 2004.

After elimination from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, playing in the Asian finals was a priority for Jordan which has steadily slid down FIFA Rankings and the team has had inconsistent results compared to 2013 when Jordan was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup for the first time.