U-23 team prepares to host Iraq

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-23 team is set to play Iraq in a friendly on Wednesday, starting the countdown to the 2nd AFC U-23 Championship, which also serves as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Following its match against Iraq, the squad will leave to the UAE on Thursday for a final training camp running until January 7, which will include matches against North Korea, Syria and Uzbekistan.

The Kingdom qualified to the U-23 Championship after it topped Group B qualifiers in Amman. Jordan was drawn in Group D with Australia, the UAE and Vietnam in the 16-team 

competition set for January 12-30 in Qatar. Jordan’s coach Jamal Abu Abed underlined it was a tough draw, adding that all players would play in the upcoming four friendlies before the final starting line-up is chosen.

“We chose to play four strong sides, in order to put the team in competition readiness,” said Abu Abed, adding that Jordan Cup and Jordan Professional League matches had helped make needed changes in the line-up.

With players unable to fully regroup in preparation for the Asian Championship, the U-23 team played Wihdat, Jazira, Faisali and Shabab Urdun in friendlies during the last two months as Abu Abed worked on defensive and offensive tac

tics and tried to enhance “team cohesiveness”. In the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship (now renamed the AFC U-23 Championship), the U-23 team beat South Korea to take bronze as Iraq beat Saudi Arabia to win the title.

Although the U-23 squad had a modest preparation period hampered with no training camps and no serious friendlies, officials hope the team will fare well after most other age groups were eliminated from their respective Asian qualifiers this year.

Those include U-19, the U-16 boys, and women’s U-19 and U-16 and senior teams. Earlier this year, the U-23 was eliminated from the 1st West Asian Championship on a technicality arising from the misinterpretation of regulations which cost the team qualification on points.

After defeating Yemen 3-1, losing 2-1 to Qatar, Jordan enlisted the reserves when it played Palestine and lost 1-0 assuming the result would not matter after Palestine’s results were scrapped when it failed to advance. However, the team’s defeat to Palestine put it fourth in the group, allowing Yemen, the only team it beat, to advance as best second placed team.

In 2014, the U-23 squad represented Jordan at the Asian Games where it made to the quarterfinals despite a bumpy preparation period amid the busy agenda of the national team as well as local clubs.