U-19 squad has busy agenda ahead of Asian qualifiers

By Aline Bannayan - Jul 15,2015 - Last updated at Jul 15,2015

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s U-19 football team is gearing up for Asian Football Association (AFC) U-19 qualifiers kicking off October 2.

The squad was drawn in Group E alongside host Iran, Kuwait and Nepal in qualifiers which involve team from across the continent with group winners as well as best second-placed teams booking a slot to the AFC U-19 Championship set for Bahrain in 2016. The top-four sides of the U-19 Championship advance to the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Jordan’s squad regrouped earlier in the year as coaches described the draw as “tough”, but said the team will spare no effort to be ready for the qualifiers. Preparations were hampered by students’ examinations and head coach Islam Diyabat said training will continue before the final line-up is announced.

The team will have a training camp following the Eid and prepare to play Oman on August 21 and 23, Lebanon on September 10 and the UAE on September 18 and 20, and the team will have a final camp in the UAE.

“All these friendlies will help boost the competitive edge and point out to any gaps before heading into our final training camp,” Diyabat noted as the team played a series of friendlies against local clubs over the past two weeks.

South Korea, who beat Iraq in the 2012 final, has won the U-19 championship a record 12 times since it started in 1959. Qatar won the last edition in 2014.

The seeding for the draw was based on the rankings from the AFC U-19 Championship 2014. A total of 43 member associations including Bahrain will compete in the qualifiers divided into two zones — the West Zone, which has 25 teams, and the East Zone with 18 teams. Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams will qualify for the finals while hosts Bahrain received an automatic qualification (total 16 teams). The qualifiers will be held from September 28 to October 6.

If Bahrain finish top of their qualifying group or one of the five second best-placed teams, the next (6th) second placed team will qualify for the final competition.

Rate