Jordan women’s squad kicks off Asian qualifiers

AMMAN — The Jordanian women’s national football team plays host Myanmar on Monday in Round 2 qualifiers for the 2016 Summer Olympics football tournament.

After an easy path in the previous round when Jordan topped Asian Group B qualifiers beating Uzbekistan 2-0, Hong Kong 1-0 and Palestine 6-0 to move to Round 2, the task ahead is tough.

The Kingdom will play other group leaders Taiwan on September 16, Thailand on September 18 and Vietnam on September 20, following which only the top team from this round will move to Round 3 to play the top five seeded teams — Japan, Australia,South Korea, North Korea and China.

Only the top two will qualify to represent Asia at the Olympic Games. Jordan is now 53rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings leading all Arab teams at 11th in the Asian continent. Coach Khader Eid noted players were upbeat but “the task of clinching a berth from some of the best teams in East Asia was not easy”.