Football fans unhappy with national squad; refocus on club competitions

AMMAN — The focus of football fans will turn to league and Asian club action, after ten days of international qualifiers, as well as the first local competition which ended with a new winner.

Jordan played two Round 3/Group B qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup, tying Iraq 0-0 in Basra and holding Kuwait again 1-1 to drop to third place in the group, after Palestine drew 1-1 with South Korea and Iraq beat Oman 1-0.

Observers analyzing the team’s performance in the Kuwait match, noted that the individual efforts of Yazan Nu’eimat hadsaved Jordan while the exit of goalie Yazeed Abu Laila with a jaw injury, was a turning point. Others underlined Montpellier striker Mousa Ta’mari has been below par coinciding with the absence of Ali Alwan, Noor Rawabdeh on the injury list. Some noted that the reserve players should be given more playing time as they played with more energy than the starting lineup,but could not convert to goals late in the game.

Jordan next plays Palestine on March 20, 2025 followed by South Korea on March 25 before facing Oman and Iraq in the final qualifiers in June. In earlier matches, Jordan held Kuwait 1-1, beat Palestine 3-1, lost 2-0 to South Korea before beating Oman 4-0.

Jordan’s Moroccan coach Jamal Sellami’s remarks following the match  “a draw was better than a defeat against Kuwait”, havecome under fire, after the coach earlier told underlined “Jordan cannot afford losing any points at this stage.” His defensive tactics and replacements were the main points under scrutiny.

Jordan, which earlier this year, reached the Asian Cup final, in their fifth time at the Asian Cup, has a chance to make history and reach the World Cup for the first time after FIFA expanded the format to include 16 more teams in the upcoming 2026 World Cup edition. 

Meanwhile, on the local scene, Salt won their first ever major football title on Wednesday when they upset Wihdat to take home the Jordan Football Association Shield Cup– the second major competition on the local football calendar.

Salt were the only undefeated team in the Shield Cup and after being 1-0 down they tied the match to win 4-3 on penalties. Wihdat were looking to win the first of the season titles as they strive to make a strong local comeback after Ramtha and Hussein won the Pro League in the past two seasons. On their way to the final, Salt eliminated league champs Hussein on penalties while Wihdat ousted Sarih who earlier ousted Faisali from the event.

Shield tournament winners are: Wihdat 10 time, Faisali 9, Ramtha 5, Hussein 3, Jazira,  Amman and Shabab Urdun twice, Salt, Jalil, Kufrsoum and Yarmouk once. Hussein were finalists 7 times. Amman, have since scrapped football while Qadissieh were relegated and have since merged with Shabab Urdun.

Last season, Hussein won the Professional League crown for the first time, Wihdat won the Jordan Cup for the 12th time as well as the Super Cup for their 15th time, while Faisali won their 9thJordan Football Association Shield.  

Next week, Hussein and Wihdat also return to Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Champions League Two matches hoping to advance to the quarters of the second tier Asian event that has replaced the AFC Cup.