Jazira, Faisali aim to repeat wins in AFC Cup

AMMAN — Jazira face Oman’s Suweiq, while Faisali play Oman’s Dhofar on Tuesday, in Stage 4 of the 15th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup as return leg matches kick off with both teams aiming to consolidate their leads atop groups A and C respectively.

In Leg 1, Jazira beat Suweiq 3-2 while Faisali beat Dhofar 2-0. Both teams lead the second-tier Asian club competition after earlier results as Jazira held 

Iraqi Air Force Club 2-2 and beat Bahrain’s Malikieh 1-0, while Faisali held Syria’s 

Wihdeh 2-2 and upset Lebanon’s Ansar 3-1. The top teams from each group, 

in addition to the best second placed team, will move to the second round of the competition.

Last season, Iraqi Air Force Club won the AFC Cup title for the second year running. The AFC Cup was previously won three times by Jordanian teams. Faisali won in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun won in 2007. Other Jordanian teams that competed are Wihdat, Jazira, Ramtha, Hussein and That Ras. 

Faisali finished runner-up to Tunisia’s Tarajji in the last edition of the Arab Clubs Championships with an impressive performance, which included two wins over Egyptian veterans Ahli, the reigning Jordanian League and Cup champs were eliminated from the 2018 AFC Champions League play-off match and failed to reach the group stages of Asia’s elite club competition and settled to play the AFC Cup. Jordanian teams have never before made it past the ACL preliminary round. Wihdat were knocked out in 2017, 2016 and 2015, while Shabab Urdun were eliminated in 2014.

Locally, so far this season, reigning League and Jordan Cup champs Faisali beat Jazira to win the 35th Jordan Super Cup. Wihdat beat Jazira to win the Jordan Football Association Shield. In the Jordan Cup, Jazira ousted Faisali, while Shabab Urdun eliminated Wihdat to reach the final.