U-23 squad hopeful, U-19 team crash at regional event

AMMAN — Both the U-23 and U-19 teams have not been impressive at their respective Asian competitions echoing observers concerns after the U-16 and women’s teams were also eliminated last month.

The U-23 squad will play Palestine on Tuesday in its third match at the 1st West Asian Championship currently under way in Doha.

Jordan is now second in Group A after they lost to Qatar 2-1, and beat Yemen 3-1. Qatar lead after it beat Palestine 3-0 and Yemen are third after it beat Palestine 3-1. Iran, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain is playing in Group B while the UAE, Oman and Syria are in Group C. The top team from each group will move on to Round 2 alongside the best second placed team.

The relatively easy draw might have served Jordan making up for an otherwise modest preparation period hampered with no training camps and no serious friendlies. In 2014, Jordan’s U-23 squad had similar circumstances when it represented Jordan at the Asian Games. The team made to the quarter-finals despite a bumpy preparation period amid the busy agenda of the national team as well as local clubs. 

Following its West Asian Championship agenda, the U-23 national team needs to prepare for the 2nd edition of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship, which also serves as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Jordan got a tough draw at the 16-team competition set for Qatar January 12-30, 2016 where it will play in Group D next to Australia, UAE and Vietnam. The Kingdom qualified to the U-23 Championship after it topped Group B qualifiers in Amman as Jordan held Kuwait 3-3, beat Kyrgyzstan 4-0 and Pakistan 5-0 to advance. 

In the inaugural edition, the U-23 team impressed observers when it beat South Korea to take bronze at the AFC U-22 Championship (now renamed the AFC U-23 Championship) as Iraq beat Saudi Arabia to take the title.

 U-19 squad winless

Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s U-19 football team, which previously reached the FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada in 2007, seems unlikely to repeat that feat.

The squad lost 2-1 to Kuwait and 3-0 to Iran so far and will play Nepal on Tuesday in its third match at the Asian Football Association (AFC) U-19 qualifiers.

Only group winners and best second-placed team will book a slot to the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship set for Bahrain.  The top-four sides of the U-19 Championship advance to the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The Kingdom has previously reached the AFC U-19 Championship four times. In 2006, Jordan made headlines and achieved the country’s biggest sporting success when it qualified to the 2007 FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada after reaching the semis and eventually finishing fourth at the Asian U-19 Championship. It exited the group stages in 2008 and 2010 and reached the quarters in 2012. Jordan failed to qualify in 2014 when it exited Group B qualifiers in Amman.