Jordan faces Tajikistan on Friday with hope of reaching Asian Cup semifinals

All eyes will be on world 87th ranked Jordan as they aim to reach the semifinals for the first time when they play world’s 103rd ranked Tajikistan at 2:30 pm Amman time, whom they have defeated in two out of three previous official matches. In their last encounter, Jordan held Tajikistan 1-1 and lost 2-0 to Saudi Arabia in November 2023 in Group G qualifiers for the World Cup 2026. 

With their recent upward climb, fans and officials hope the Kingdom’s lineup can get past Friday’s match although Jordan will miss Nizar Rashdan who has two yellow bookings, as well as Hamzeh Dardour who was sent home by the team’s coach for his unsportsmanlike conduct after the Iraq match. However, Nour Rawabdeh who suffered a rib injury seems to be back with the team and will join stars Mousa Ta’mari, and Yazan Nue’imat hoping to lead the team to the semis.

Other quarterfinals of the 18th edition of the tournament, will see Australia plays two-time champs Korea on Friday, while on Saturday it’s Qatar vs Uzbekistan and Iran vs Japan.

Round of 16 results were full of surprises and mostly competitive matches which saw Jordan came from 2-1 down to beat 2007 champs Iraq 3-2 in the final minutes of the match. Iran beat Syria on penalties 5-3, Korea beat three time champ Saudi Arabia on penalties 4-2, Tajikistan beat UAE on penalties 5-3, defending champs Qatar beat Palestine 2-1, Uzbekistan beat Thailand 2-1, Japan beat Bahrain 3-1, and Australia beat Indonesia 4-0.

Twenty four teams contested Round 1 playing in 6 Groups. Jordan finished 3rd in Group E after it lost 1-0 to Bahrain, tied world’s 23rd ranked Korea 2-2, and scored a 4-0 win over Malaysia. The top two teams as well three best third place squads finishers and one best fourth placed team moved to the round of 16 with Palestine, Syria, and Tajikistan advancing for the first time as well as Indonesia which moved as best fourth. 

The champions will receive $5 million, the runners-up $3 million, and the losing semifinalists $1 million. All 24 participating teams will also receive $200,000.

It is Jordan’s fifth time as the Asian Cup since 1972. In the 2004 edition, Jordan was about to reach the semifinals but lost to Japan in the quarterfinals after tying 1-1 before squandering a 3–1 lead in the penalty to lose 3–4. Japan eventually went on to win the title and Jordan jumped to the best ever FIFA rank of 37th.

Jordan also reached the quarterfinals in 2011 when it lost to Uzbekistan. In 2015, it exited the group stages and in 2019 reached the Round of 16 where they lost the penalty shootout to Vietnam. The current edition was delayed from 2023 to 2024 taking into account the weather in the Arab Gulf region.

Japan holds the record as four times champions of the Asian Cup organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Among Arab countries, Saudi Arabia won three times while, Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq won once each. Iran won three times, South Korea twice and Australia and Israel once. The latter was later expelled from the AFC in 1974 and joined UEFA.

Jordan’s results have boosted team confidence and fan morale after the squad played nine matches and only scored one win in preparation for the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers. The Kingdom’s Moroccan coach Hussein Amouta who took over the job in summer aims for an advanced placement in regional and international competitions while striving to revamp the team and create a competitive lineup for the future.