Jordan plays N. Korea in U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers

AMMAN  —  Jordan plays North Korea on Friday in its third match in Group A U17 Asian Cup qualifiers currently under way in Amman.

Jordan lost its easiest two encounters ahead of playing North Korea on October 25 and Iran on October 27.  Jordan went down in the first match 3-1 to Syria, and squandered the chance to possibly qualify from the group as second best after surprisingly losing to Hong Kong 2-1.

Observers expected Jordan to easily beat Hong Kong which had lost 8-2 to North Korea and 7-1 to Iran. However, Jordan’s result paved the way for Iran to likely advance as second best with two matches left. Before qualifiers conclude, North Korea took the lead atop the standings and clinched the qualifying spot from Group A, after it beat Syria 2-1 and Iran 4-1.

A total of 43 teams are playing in 10 groups with the group leaders as well as 5 second placed teams advancing to the April 3-20, 2025 finals in Saudi Arabia. In 2022, Jordan hosted Group A qualifiers for the U-17 Asian Cup but failed to advance.  The team also could not retain their West Asian Championship title and exited Round  1.

In other age group divisions, Jordan qualified to the U-20 Asian Cup scheduled for China in February 2025 - a qualifying tournament to the U-20 World Cup. Jordan advanced to the finals for the 9th time and hopes to repeat 2006 feat, when it finished fourth in the U-20 Asian Cup  and qualified to the U-20 World Cup in 2007.