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AMMAN – Jordanians are counting down to 7:00am local time Wednesday - a memorable day for the nation as their history making squad ‘Al-Nashama’kick off Group J matches againstWorld 24thranked Austria in their first ever participationat the FIFA World Cup currently underway in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Jordanians have been given a late working day start to watch the match, which will be played Tuesday evening 9:00 pm Pacific time in San Francisco. Players have become household names, with the official T-shirt, team logo and flags adorning cars, homes, cafes and streets as the team makes its debut on the world stage.
The 26th edition of the tournament has brought an additional 16 nations including a record 8 Arab nations: 2022 semifinalists Morocco are joined by Egypt, the first Arab nation ever to qualify to a World Cup in 1934,Algeria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan.
Fans hope ‘Al-Nashama’ will continue the positive results of most Arab and Asian teams in the first week of the event as three teams from each groupwill move to the next round. Results so far include Morocco vs Brazil 1-1, Egypt vs Belgium 1-1, Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay 1-1, Qatar vs Switzerland 1-1, with only the Sweden vs Tunisia 5-1 result a disappointment.
Among Asian teams, it was Japan vs Netherlands 2-2, SouthKoreavs Czech Republic 2-1, Australia vs Turkey 2-0, Iran vs New Zealand 2-2.
FIFA #63ranked Jordan will play also 28thranked Algeria on June 23, before leaving to Dallas to play World #1 ranked reigning champions Argentina on June 28 in the last Round 1 match.
Despite the challenging group, Jordan’s Moroccan coach Jamal Sellami, a World Cup player at France 1998, believes his side is capable of making a strong impression and has motivated players underlining the “honor and responsibility of being the first team to represent Jordan in the World Cup.”
Team captain Ehsan Haddad told a press conference it is “pride rather than pressure’ that underscores the historic participation which has had immense support and followby HRH Crown Prince Hussein and the team delegation headed by HRH Prince Ali, President of the Jordan Football Association.
In the leadup to the World Cup, Jordan played7-time World Cup qualifier, 13th ranked Columbia losing 2-0 after an earlier 4-1 defeat to 12-time qualifier World 19th ranked Switzerland en route to the United States.
Mousa Ta’mari, Yazan Al Arab and Ali Alwan, lead the Jordanian squad together with Mohammad Abul Nadi, Nizar Rashdan, Mahmoud Mardi and Mohammad Abu Zreiq ‘Sharara’ and Ehsan Haddad back after a long injury. Jordan’s young star Odeh Fakhoury, now on the linkup of Egyptian champions Pyramids, scored the sole goal againstSwitzerlandand is one the leading the younger debutants including Ali Azaizeh,Mohammad Abu Gosh and others.
Striker Ibrahim Sabra, one of the key stars of Jordan’s U23 lineup, joined teammates sidelined with injury, adding to the challenges of the coaching staff with key players sidelined including one of the leading strikers in Asia ,Yazan Nue’imat, and Adham Qurashi. They were late joined by Isam Smeiri, who had excelled in the Arab Cup in Nue’imat’s absence.
Since 1986, when Jordan first participated in World Cup qualifiers, their earlier best performancewas in 2014 World Cup when they played then FIFA 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie before exiting. Round 3 was the furthest they reached in earlier editions.
At look back at Jordan’s past achievements saw their best ever FIFA ranking was37thin 2004after advancing to the Asian Cup quarterfinals and losing to eventual champs Japan. Jordan’s World Cup qualification seems to have started with the 2023Asian Cup, when the team reached the final before losing to hosts Qatar. In December 2025, Jordan finished runner-up to eventual champions Morocco at the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup, despite missing many key players on the injury list or club duty.By finishingrunner-up at the 2023 Asian Cup, followed by a historic first-time qualification to the World Cup,Jordan booked their spot in the next edition of the 2027 Asian Cup a well.
