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AMMAN – Jordan plays Algeria at 6:00am Amman local time on Tuesday in their second match at the 2026 World Cup currently underway in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Home fans are anticipating a hard fought Group J encounter against world 28th ranked Algeria who lost 3-0 to Argentina in their opener while Jordan kicked off with a fighting spirit despite their 3-1 loss to World 24th ranked Austria. The squad dubbed ‘Al-Nashama’ will leave for Dallas to play their third match against World #1 ranked reigning champions Argentina on June 28 with the top three teams from the group advancing to the next round.
The Monday evening match, at 8:00 pm Pacific time in San Francisco, is again expected to be attended by a sizable Jordanian crowd who adorned the streets and stadium with the flag, songs, and traditional Jordanian headdress colors. Fans back home will also have an early start to the day hoping their World #63 ranked team can score a positive result against Algeria and fight for 3rd position in the group to keep their chances alive.
The match against Austria Saw Ali Olwan scoring Jordan’s first goal in the World Cup and chosen player of the match despite his team’s defeat. Nour Rawabdeh and Abdulla Nasib also excelled in performance percentages. Lead star striker Mousa Ta’mari, who plays in the French League is yet to score and fans are calling on coach Jamal Sellami to give younger players like striker Ali Azaizeh, Mohammad Abu Zreiq ‘Sharara’ as well as Odeh Fakhoury, now on the lineup of Egyptian champions Pyramids, who scored the sole goal in the Switzerland friendly as well as the reserve goalies a chance to play. In the leadup to the World Cup, Jordan lost 2-0 to 7-time World Cup qualifier, 13th ranked Columbia after an earlier 4-1 defeat to 12-time qualifier World 19th ranked Switzerland.
The matches clearly demonstrated that the lineup needed to adapt to players available to amend any gaps with the absence of one of the leading strikers in Asia ,Yazan Nue’imat in addition to striker Ibrahim Sabra, one of the key stars of Jordan’s U23 lineup, Adham Qurashi and Isam Smeiri, who had excelled in the Arab Cup in Nue’imat’s absence.
The history making ‘Al-Nashama’ squad have become household names, as the team made it to the world stage for the first time at the 26th edition of the tournament which has brought together many first timers with an additional 16 nations participating 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.
Regardless of results, Jordan’s first even participation is hailed as a cornerstone which has united the nation around the team, and created a vibe that will inspire new generations and elevate the game in general. HRH Crown Prince Hussein and HRH Princess Rajwa Al Hussein, HRH Prince Ali, President of the Jordan Football Association, and HRH Prince Hashem attended the first match with team captain Ehsan Haddad underlining it was “pride rather than pressure’ that underscores the historic participation which has had immense support and follow up by and the Royal family.
Fans hope Jordan will continue the positive results of most Arab and Asian teams. So far it been Morocco vs Brazil 1-1, Morocco vs Scotland 1-0, Egypt vs New Zealand 3-1, Egypt vs Belgium 1-1, Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay 1-1, Qatar vs Switzerland 1-1. In defeats, Tunisia vs Sweden 5-1 and vs Japan 4-0 to; Saudi Arabia vs former champs Spain 4-0; Canada vs Qatar 6-0, Norway vs Iraq 4-1, Argentina vs Algeria 3-0.
Among Asian teams, it was Iran vs Belgium 0-0, Japan vs Netherlands 2-2, South Korea vs Czech Republic 2-1, Australia vs Turkey 2-0, Iran vs New Zealand 2-2.
Since 1986, when Jordan first participated in World Cup qualifiers, their earlier best performance was 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 qualifiers in earlier editions.
At look back at the Kingdom’s past achievements saw Jordan at the best ever FIFA ranking of 37th in 2004 after advancing to the Asian Cup quarterfinals and losing to eventual champs Japan. Jordan’s World Cup qualification started with the 2023 Asian 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 finishing runner-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.
