Jordan plays Brunei in U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-23 football team plays Brunei on Wednesday in its opening Group A qualifier for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar in April 2024.

Hosting its qualifying group in Amman, Jordan plays Oman on September 9 and Syria on September 12, as the team eyes an Olympic qualifying spot for the first time.

The qualifiers will see teams playing in 11 groups with the top team from each group together with four best second placed teams advancing to the U-23 Asian Cup from which the top four teams will move to the Olympics.

Last week, Jordan held Palestine 1-1 amidst final preparations ahead of the qualifiers as 

team officials acknowledged the lineup has not had the best preparation agenda nor enough time to regroup as well as minimal friendlies played against Lebanon, Bahrain, Palestine and the U-20 national team. 

Meanwhile, Jordan’s senior team has started training in Oslo, Norway where it will play the host in a friendly on Thursday before travelling to play Azerbaijan on September 12. The two friendlies will be the first matches under new coach Moroccan Hussein Amoutaو who has named an initial lineup as the team prepares for the 23rd World Cup 2026 qualifiers set to kick off in October, which also serve as qualifiers for the 2027 Asian Cup.

Jordan was drawn in Group G alongside Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and the winner from the Cambodia/Pakistan match. The coach is set on advancing Jordan to the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.