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Indian Wells, California — Reigning US Open champion Daniil Medvedev joined the growing list of top-seed casualties at the ATP/WTA Indian Wells on Wednesday, losing in the fourth round to World No. 28 Grigor Dimitrov 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Medvedev, who won his first Grand Slam title last month at Flushing Meadows, had not lost a set heading into the fourth round but dropped eight straight games, and had his serve broken six times against Dimitrov, en route to a stunning early exit for the top seed.

"I don't remember myself losing three service games, even four service games ever on hard courts," Medvedev said.

"That shows how slow this court is and the conditions, more like clay, which I don't like. To lose four times the serve is just unacceptable. That's why I lost the [second] set."

World No. 2 Medvedev did not take a break after his emotional US Open victory and said his busy schedule may have finally caught up with him.

"I did feel exhausted in this tournament. Now I can say it. I couldn't say it before my matches. There are a few physical things that have come up," said Medvedev, who is hoping to eventually overtake world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

Medvedev won the first set, was up 4-1 in the second and appeared to be cruising to another easy victory when the wheels came off: his unforced errors mounted and service game fell flat.

Medvedev had no answers for the way Dimitrov was playing and predicted the Bulgarian would likely go on to capture the title.

"If he plays like this, like the way he played me from 4-1, then he is going to win the tournament," Medvedev said.

"He played the second half of the match better than anyone did against me at the US Open. It is not like I gave him the match."

The match turned in the sixth game of the second set as Dimitrov broke Medvedev's serve for the second time in the set to cut the Russian's lead to 4-2.

Dimitrov held serve in the next game and then broke Medvedev's serve twice more to take the set and lay the foundation for a dominating performance in the third.

The Bulgarian closed out the match on the first match point, when Medvedev blasted a forehand long.

"Been watching quite a bit of his matches," Dimitrov said of Medvedev. "I really wanted to play this match to be completely honest. What he has been able to accomplish this past year and a half is pretty amazing. I think it really pushes me also to do better."

Dimitrov will face Polish eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz, who rolled over Russian Aslan Karatsev 6-1, 6-3 on Wednesday in the quarter-finals.

Minor setback

The 25-year-old Medvedev beat Djokovic in the US Open final last month to prevent the Serbian star from becoming the first man since the legendary Rod Laver in the 1960s to win all four Grand Slams in the same year.

On Wednesday, Medvedev made six double faults in the two hour, 15 minute match in the main stadium.

Medvedev, who has won 50 matches in 2021, described this as a minor setback because this event is not a Grand Slam.

"I don't see this as the end of the world. I don't think this would happen in a Grand Slam," he said. 

This is the second time Dimitrov has beaten Medvedev in five career meetings. The last time was a three-set win in their first encounter in 2017 in London.

In other men's fourth-round matches on Wednesday, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Australian Alex De Minaur 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 and third-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany overpowered France's Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-3 in just 61 minutes.

In the women's draw, two-time winner Victoria Azarenka punched her ticket to the semi-finals with a straight-sets win — 6-4, 6-2 — over Jessica Pegula.

Azarenka, who is the only player left in the women's and men's fields to have won in Indian Wells, captured the title in 2012 and 2016.

The 32-year-old from Belarus needed 94 minutes to end the run of American Pegula and reach the final four of this event for the fourth time in her career.

"I really played well in the crucial moments," Azarenka said. "I felt like I stepped up to the occasion a lot. That's what I'm really happy with today."

Azarenka will next face Jelena Ostapenko for a spot in the women's final.

SAITAMA, Japan — Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu urged his side to build on the 2-1 win over Australia that jolted its World Cup qualifying campaign into life as Son Heung-min scored in South Korea’s 1-1 draw with Iran on Tuesday.

Japan went into the crunch home match having lost two of its opening three games in Group B, but took three crucial points thanks to an 85th-minute own goal from Australia’s Aziz Behich.

Japan still trail Australia and Saudi Arabia in the battle for the group’s two automatic spots for Qatar 2022, but the win blew Group B wide open and ended the visitors’ record of 11 straight victories in one World Cup qualifying campaign.

Group A is tight though after Tottenham star Son Heung-min scored for South Korea before they conceded with 14 minutes remaining against Iran.

Embattled Japan boss Moriyasu said: “We kept fighting until the end and never gave up. We are determined to get to the World Cup and we showed that tonight.

“It was a great win but we still have a lot of tough games to come. We have to make sure we use this win and build on it.”

Japanese media had speculated that Moriyasu could lose his job unless his side beat in-form Australia, and the manager made a special point of applauding fans after the final whistle in Saitama.

“It was a very difficult game, but the fact that the players kept going to the end was down to the support they got from the crowd,” he said.

Ao Tanaka gave Japan the perfect start in the eighth minute, only for Australia’s Ajdin Hrustic to equalise with a 69th-minute free-kick.

But Behich turned the ball into his own net with five minutes remaining, after Takuma Asano’s shot hit the post.

Takumi Minamino played a cross that Behich failed to cut out for Japan’s opener, and Tanaka was on hand to drill the ball past goalkeeper Maty Ryan.

But the Socceroos hit back in the second half, and thought they had been awarded a penalty when Hidemasa Morita tripped Hrustic.

The referee changed the decision to a free kick on the edge of the box after a VAR review, but Hrustic slammed the ball past Shuichi Gonda regardless.

Japan went in search of a winner, with Ryan denying Junya Ito and substitute Kyogo Furuhashi before Behich scored an own goal.

There was no stopping Saudi Arabia as it pipped China 3-2 for its fourth straight victory to take a three-point lead over Australia atop Group B.

Sami Al Najei netted a first-half brace for the Arab giants in Jeddah while Firas Al Birakan added a third in Jeddah.

Second-half goals from Aloisio and Wu Xi gave the Chinese little consolation as they crashed to their third defeat and remain a spot ahead of bottom-placed Vietnam who fell 3-1 to Oman on Tuesday.

Nguyen Tien Linh stunned Oman with a 39th minute strike but the host hit back with three goals in a span of seven minutes to clinch their second win with Issam Al Sabhi, Mohsin Al Khaldi and Salah Al Yahyaei on target.

In Group A, Lebanon rallied from a goal down to shock Syria 3-2 with Mohamed Kadouh scoring twice in first-half stoppage time.

Omar Khribin put the Syrians ahead in the 20th minute before Kadouh’s twin-strikes and Soony Saad’s 53rd minute goal saw Lebanon take an 3-1.

Star striker Omar Al Somah gave the Syrians some home with a 64th minute strike but Lebanon defended stoutly for their first win in four matches.

Meanwhile, a second-half stoppage time goal by Ali Ahmed Mabkhout helped UAE hold Iraq to a thrilling 2-2 draw.

Ciao’s first-half goal for the UAE was cancelled out by an own goal by Mohamed Omar in the 74th minute before Aymen Hussein’s strike put Iraq ahead one minute from time.

But UAE talisman Mabkhout rescued a point for the Emiratis by booting home the equaliser from point-blank range off a cross from Waleed Abbas.

Jordan's national U-23 team beat Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in the final of the 2021 West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-23 Championship. Jordan reached the final for the first time after eliminating Syria 5-2 as Saudi Arabia beat Iraq 1-0 in the other semifinal.

The first edition of the WAFF U-23 Championship was held in Qatar in 2015 and won by Iran, before they moved to the Central Asian Football Association.

Jordan was eliminated in the group stage. The second edition, was held in Dammam and Al Khobar and had 11 teams playing in three groups.

The WAFF Championship is part of final preparations for the Asian U-23 qualifiers in which Jordan will play in Group F against Turkmenistan on October 25 and Palestine on October 30. The top team will move to the U-23 Asian Championship in Uzbekistan in June 2022.

The team will return to Amman on Wednesday, as players rejoin their clubs in preparation for the restart of Jordan Professional Football League matches

AMMAN —  Jordan’s national U-23 team will play Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in the final of the 2021 West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-23 Championship.

Jordan reached the final for the first time after eliminating Syria 5-2 as Saudi Arabia beat Iraq 1-0 in the other semifinal.

The first edition of the WAFF U-23 Championship was held in Qatar in 2015 and won by Iran, before they moved to the Central Asian Football Association. Jordan was eliminated in the group stage.

The current second edition, being held in the cities of Dammam and Al Khobar, has 11 teams playing in three groups. The top team from each of the three groups moved on to the semis alongside the best second placed team.

Jordan beat Kuwait and Yemen 2-1 and lost to Oman 1-0 in Group A matches. 

Group B included Iraq, Palestine, the UAE and Lebanon, while Group C had Saudi, Syria and Bahrain.

Jordan lately played Syria in two friendlies beating their guests 1-0 and drawing 2-2 in the second. 

The WAFF Championship is part of final preparations for the Asian U-23 qualifiers in which Jordan will play in Group F against Turkmenistan on October 25 and Palestine on October 30. The top team will move to the U-23 Asian Championship in Uzbekistan in June 2022.

The U-23 squad reached the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship four times: In 2014 they finished third, in 2016 they reached the quarterfinals, in 2018, they were knocked out of Round 1 and in 2020 they reached the quarter-finals of the 4th AFC U-23 Championship — a qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

In Asian qualifiers prior to the halt in 2020 due to the pandemic, the Kingdom’s other national teams were eliminated in Asian competitions in 2019. The U-16 squad failed to advance to the U-16 AFC Championship which serves as a qualifier for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. In the earlier edition, Jordan had bowed out of the Round 1 of the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship. Similarly, the U-16 women’s squad failed to advance to the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship. 

In the U-19 category, women’s and men’s teams were also eliminated from qualifiers for the AFC Championship. The U-19 men’s team had impressive results in five past editions. The best performance came when they finished fourth in 2006 and advanced to the FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada in 2007. They exited the first round in 2008, 2010 and 2018. They reached the quarters in 2012. This was the third time Jordan failed to qualify after 2014 and 2016.

National football team plays Uzbekistan

Meanwhile, Jordan’s senior national team plays 84th ranked Uzbekistan on Tuesday in the final match of their local training camp as they prepare for the FIFA Arab Cup — Qatar 2021, in December.

Jordan beat world 154th ranked Malaysia 4-0 in the first friendly of the three-nation tournament as Uzbekistan beat Malaysia 5-1.

The squad’s performance has come under scrutiny by observers especially after Jordan lost to little known Haiti 2-0 and managed a 2-1 win over Bahrain last month. Haiti lost 6-1 to Bahrain in the first friendly tourney since Iraqi coach Adnan Hamad took over after the removal of Belgian Vital Borkelmans following the early exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Jordan now needs to go through another stage of qualifying to get to the 2023 Asian Cup. 

Jordan will play in Group C alongside, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Palestine in the FIFA Arab Cup. In the preliminary round qualifier, Jordan overcame South Sudan on a technicality after the latter was forced to forfeit the match with over six members of the squad contracting COVID-19.

The Kingdom has taken part in past eight Arab Cups and hosted the 1988 edition. Iraq are record Arab Cup titleholders in 1964, 1966 1985 and 1988. Saudi Arabia won in 1998 and 2002, Tunisia in 1963, Egypt in 1992 and Morocco in 2012.

In latest FIFA Rankings, Jordan was up to 93rd and 14th in Asia lagging behind relatively uncompetitive Asian teams compared to their best ranking of 37th in 2004.

The team is scheduled to hold a training camp and play Kosovo on November 10 and Belarus on November 16.

Looking back at the Jordan’s peak performance, the team was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie. the World Cup qualifying Round 3 was the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times since taking part the 1986 qualifiers. 

In the Asian Cup, Jordan has reached the tournament four times since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972. The highlight was at the 13th Asian Cup in 2004, when they lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37th. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011, 2015 and 2019.

ISTANBUL — Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas claimed his first chequered flag of the season to win the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday, as Max Verstappen reclaimed the lead in the title race.

The Red Bull driver finished second to take a six-point lead in the championship ahead of Lewis Hamilton who finished fifth voicing frustration with his Mercedes’ team strategy.

“From my side, probably one of the best races I’ve ever had,” said Bottas after his 11th career win.

Sergio Perez, in the other Red Bull, took third with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth.

“It wasn’t easy today,” said Verstappen.

“The track was very greasy, we had to manage the tyres the whole race so couldn’t really push.

“Just seemed Valtteri had a bit more pace, could look after the tyres all race. Happy to finish second in these conditions, it’s easy to get it wrong so you drop back.”

Hamilton was quickest in qualifying but had to start the race in 11th because of a grid penalty incurred for changing his engine.

The seven-time champion gained two places on the opening lap before picking his way up to fifth where he was held up by Perez, the two of them dicing at the end of lap 35 in some classic wheel-to-wheel racing.

As the other cars came in to change their tyres Hamilton stayed out, moving up to third and looking good for the podium.

Hamilton declined the initial call to come in for fresh tyres but finally acceded to the Mercedes team instructions, boxing eight laps from the end.

It cost Hamilton two places as Perez and Leclerc flew on ahead and the Englishman did not hide his frustration over the radio.

‘Shouldn’t have come in’

“We shouldn’t have come in. Massive graining man. I told you,” an angry Hamilton said to his team as he struggled to hold off Pierre Gasly in the AlphaTauri. 

A disgruntled Hamilton later pointed out Alpine’s Esteban Ocon made it round with one set of tyres, intimating that he could have stayed out.

“When you come in with eight laps to go you don’t have time to go through the graining of that medium tyre on a drying track. So I went through this sliding phase where I nearly lost almost lost more positions.”

Although the rain eased by the start of the race, the wet conditions prevailed throughout, making the tactics around tyres and the timing of pit stops all the more important.

Bottas began from pole, avoiding a tangle between Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso on the opening lap, and led until pitting on the 38th lap of the 58-lap race.

That gave Leclerc the lead but as his tyres faded so did his pace and the Finn soon reclaimed the lead, going on to take his 11th Grand Prix victory and his first win since Russia over a year ago.

“It’s been a while. Feels good,” said Bottas who is leaving Mercedes at the end of the season to join Alfa Romeo.

“It is not easy to choose the strategy here with these conditions and when to stop and which tyre but I’m glad everything went smooth for once for me.

“When only one drying line, it doesn’t need much to go off. I definitely needed to focus all through the race. A difficult one, but feels like a well-earned victory.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who has recruited George Russell to replace Bottas next season, was thrilled with the performance of his current number two.

“Absolute dominant drive from him from the get go,” he said. “He had it absolutely under control. Ten out of ten for me.”

Verstappen, who began the race two points behind Hamilton in the title race, made no attempt to challenge Bottas and focussed on a damage limitation exercise, content to ease home second knowing that Hamilton was three places further back.

There are six races left in the season with the United States Grand Prix in Texas on October 24 next on the schedule.

ISTANBUL — Lewis Hamilton returns to the scene of a memorable triumph in pursuit of a record-equalling third Turkish Grand Prix win this weekend, but wary of more than one threat to his world championship crown.

Eleven months on from a spectacular victory for Mercedes in treacherous rain-hit conditions that secured him his seventh drivers' title with three races remaining, the 36-year-old Briton is this year only two points ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen with seven to go.

That knife-edge advantage offers him little protection and he knows also that he may face a grid penalty if forced to take a fresh power unit, as the Dutchman did two weekends ago in Russia, for a contest likely to be run in similarly wet weather.

Last year's event was the first at Istanbul Park for nine years and was run on a newly resurfaced and very slippery track that, like Sochi last month, conspired to deliver a high degree of jeopardy and drama.

On both occasions, Hamilton used his experience and race-craft to overcome inauspicious circumstances and deliver stunning victories rewarded by drawing level with Michael Schumacher's title tally and posting an unprecedented 100th F1 triumph.

His goals this Sunday will be more prosaic as he seeks to beat Verstappen and protect, or extend, his advantage in their enthralling title scrap and to avoid a third collision between them following their crashes at Silverstone and Monza.

Verstappen, by contrast, seeks to erase the memory of a dismal race last year when after qualifying on the front row, he spun and flat-spotted his tyres on the way to sixth, his worst finish of the season.

"It wasn't the best weekend for us, as a team," he said. "But I think it will be quite different circumstances this year — the track should be more 'grippy' and there will be a lot for us all to learn."

'Brilliant buzz' at Mercedes

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff conceded that it was "possible" that Hamilton would have a new fourth engine of the season and a grid penalty for Sunday's race, but stressed his squad were in a very positive mood.

"There's been a brilliant buzz in the team over the last week or so," he said. "Being back on top of the podium was an incredible feeling, particularly after such a dramatic race.

"And it was obviously made more special by Lewis's 100th race win. In the moment, milestones like this are exceptional, but I think it will take time for us to realise just how remarkable this period is and how privileged we are to be part of his journey.

"The final moments of the last race in Russia proved anything can happen in F1 and fortunes can change in the blink of an eye."

Having regained the momentum, Mercedes will strive to keep it, but Red Bull will want to snatch it back as a tribute to Honda, their engine suppliers, who are leaving F1 at the end of the year.

The team plan to run in a special mainly white livery, which was intended for use at the cancelled Japanese Grand Prix, which has been replaced by the Turkish race.

"It always feels special to race for Honda, even without a special livery," said Verstappen. "For us and for Honda to miss out on Japan is a shame, but it's cool we can do something in Turkey instead. I'm excited to see it.

"Working with Honda has been a pleasure. They are super motivated every single race and super-passionate to deliver the best they can."

After his last-gasp disappointment at Sochi, where he missed out on a maiden victory by staying out on slicks in the rain while leading, Lando Norris will bid to consolidate his and McLaren's progress with another solid outing at a venue where Ferrari have been the most successful team.

But with rain forecast to arrive for Saturday and Sunday, it is difficult for anyone to make reliable plans or predictions.

PARIS — While a select quartet of Europe’s heavyweights battle for the Nations League crown this week, Germany, England, Portugal and Denmark will train their sights on locking down a place at next year’s World Cup in Qatar.

European champions Italy, Spain, France and Belgium take centre stage contesting the Final Four in Milan and Turin, but five of the 10 automatic World Cup qualifying spots could be secured come next Tuesday.

Denmark appear the most likely to complete the job, knowing wins over Moldova and Austria will secure top spot in Group F. 

Kasper Hjulmand’s Euro 2020 semifinalists are the only country with a 100 per cent record. Denmark have scored 22 goals in six games without reply, and thrashed Moldova 8-0 at home in the reverse fixture.

Four-time world champions Germany has bounced back from a shock loss to North Macedonia in March, surging four points clear in Group J after Hansi Flick began his reign last month with three wins from three, including a 6-0 thumping of Armenia.

“The games I’ve seen have been super. I was in Stuttgart for the game against Armenia, and the game, the goals and the atmosphere were all top tier,” said Bayern Munich forward Thomas Mueller.

“We’ve got some good momentum going into these games, so we want to keep that going.”

Germany can avenge its defeat by the Macedonians on October 11 in Skopje, three days after the visit of Romania — one of four teams realistically still in contention.

Home and away victories for the Germans would effectively seal their place at the 2022 World Cup unless second-placed Armenia secure maximum points from games in Iceland and Romania.

England, semifinalists and runners-up at the past two major tournaments, could clinch qualification by beating Andorra and Hungary if other results in Group I go their way.

Gareth Southgate’s side conceded a stoppage-time equaliser in Poland last time out, snapping a run of five straight wins in the section.

England has not failed to win back-to-back qualifiers since losing to Russia and Croatia in November 2007, results that saw them miss out on Euro 2008.

Ronaldo returns with Haaland sidelined

Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling says wrapping up a place in Qatar, whether it be this month or in November, would just be the first step towards the ultimate goal of lifting the trophy.

“We’re not happy with doing well and putting on a show for the country, we genuinely wanted to come home with that trophy [at Euro 2020] and that’s the mentality in the squad now,” Sterling told Sky Sports.

“It was class, we went to the final but we want to win, we want to make history, and I think that’s the message since day one when Gareth came in.”

Cristiano Ronaldo returns from suspension as Portugal attempt to keep Serbia at bay in Group A. 

The all-time top scorer in men’s international football, Ronaldo will lead his side against Luxembourg after Portugal host Qatar in a friendly this Friday.

The inaugural Nations League winners could theoretically qualify for the World Cup with two games to spare, but only if Serbia slip up against both Luxembourg and Azerbaijan.

Belgium’s attention will be on a Nations League semifinal clash with France, although the world’s top-ranked team could also punch their ticket to Qatar pending the fortunes of Czech Republic and Wales in Group E.

Sweden can leapfrog Spain with victories over Greece and Kosovo in Group B, while Switzerland could move level on points with Italy in Group C if it overcome Northern Ireland and Lithuania.

Finland stands the best chance of catching France in Group D. They trail the world champions by seven points but have game in hand against Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The Finns then host Les Bleus in the final round of matches on November 16.

Norway must do without the injured Erling Haaland in key games against Turkey and Montenegro. Stale Solbakken’s side are tied with the Netherlands atop Group G on 13 points as they target a first World Cup since 1998.

Turkey has replaced coach Senol Gunes with former Germany international Stefan Kuntz after a crushing 6-1 loss to The Netherlands.

Croatia, the 2018 World Cup runners-up, and Russia are the pacesetters in Group H, but Slovakia cannot be discounted either.

MILAN — Italy and Spain will again face off in a semifinal on Wednesday when they take to the field at the San Siro for the Nations League Final Four opener, a replay of their epic Euro 2020 semifinal.

Spain finished on the losing side back in July’s European Championship semifinal as the Azzurri prevailed on penalties and went on to win the tournament, beginning an unforgettable summer of sport for Italy.

Roberto Mancini’s Italy is on a world-record run of 37 matches without defeat and has a squad predictably stuffed full of players who took part in their run to glory in the Euro final over England at Wembley.

“We’ll be facing a great Italy team: they deservedly beat England in the final of the Euro and they’ve kept their long unbeaten run going,” said Spain coach Luis Enrique after announcing his squad on Thursday.

“But like our psychologist says, defeat comes to every team. And that means that they’re closer to losing, that time is getting nearer.”

Mancini admitted that “Spain was the team we struggled against most during Euro 2020”.

“They are a good team with good players. It will be a good match,” he told uefa.com.

The only different face from the Euro crowd was supposed to be in-form Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini, who on Sunday scored his sixth goal of the season in all competitions.

However, injuries in the run-up to and during the weekend’s Serie A fixtures mean Juventus striker Moise Kean, AC Milan defender Davide Calabria and Inter Milan youngster Federico Dimarco have all been drafted in at the last minute.

The trio have respectively come on board in place of Italy’s usual starting centre-forward Ciro Immobile and Atalanta’s Rafael Toloi and Matteo Pessina.

For Dimarco it’s a first ever call up and comes from the man who in 2014 gave the 23-year-old his debut at Inter Milan, where he has impressed so far this season.

Similar philosophies

The match will also see the return of Gianluigi Donnarumma to the San Siro after leaving AC Milan on a free transfer to go to Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

Asked whether he might be harangued by Milan fans following a move which left a bad taste in the mouth of supporters, Donnarumma said: “It would be sad if that happened.

“I always gave everything for Milan and I hope the subject can be put to one side,” he added.

Luis Enrique has too had injury problems with club matches coming thick and fast between last month’s international break and the Final Four.

Teenage sensation Pedri will not take part after getting injured for the second time in less than a month, missing out on similarly young squad to the one which surpassed expectations at the Euro.

Pedri was one of the best performers of the tournament and gave a celebrated Italy midfield of Jorginho, Marco Verratti and Nicolo Barella a tough time for much of their thrilling semifinal.

Tottenham’s Bryan Gil has also been brought in after Marcos Llorente picked up a thigh injury during Atletico Madrid’s 2-0 win over Barca at the weekend, while the Catalan giants’ 17-year-old midfielder Gavi has been picked despite only having four la Liga appearances to his name.

Former Barca coach Luis Enrique was lauded by the Italians after he heaped praise on them despite what must have been a painful defeat at Wembley, and he continued his charm offensive ahead of what promises to be a worthy opener to the Final Four.

“We could have beaten them but we didn’t manage to do it, we’re two teams with a similar philosophy and we hope to take part in another exciting match,” he said.

AMMAN — The national football team hosts world 154th ranked Malaysia on Wednesday in the first friendly of a three nation tournament amid a local training camp as they prepare for the FIFA Arab Cup — Qatar 2021, in December.

Jordan is set to meet 84th ranked Uzbekistan on October 12, preceded by Malaysia versus Uzbekistan match on October 9.

The national squad’s performance came under scrutiny by observers lately as Jordan lost to little know Haiti 2-0 and managed a 2-1 win over Bahrain. Haiti had lost 6-1 to Bahrain in a three nation friendly — the first since Iraqi coach Adnan Hamad took over after the removal of Belgian Vital Borkelmans following the early exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Jordan now needs to go through another stage of qualifying to get to the 2023 Asian Cup.

In the FIFA Arab Cup preliminary round qualifier, Jordan’s team overcame South Sudan on a technicality after South Sudan was forced to forfeit the match with over six members of the squad contracting the COVID-19. Jordan will now play in Group C alongside, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Palestine.

The Kingdom has taken part in the past eight Arab Cups and hosted the 1988 edition. Iraq is record Arab Cup titleholders in 1964, 1966 1985 and 1988, Saudi Arabia in 1998 and 2002, Tunisia in 1963, Egypt in 1992 and Morocco in 2012.

In latest FIFA Rankings, Jordan was up to 93rd and 14th in Asia lagging behind relatively uncompetitive Asian teams compared to its best ranking of 37th in 2004.  

The team is scheduled to hold a training camp and play Kosovo on November 10 and Belarus on November 16.

Looking back at the Jordan’s peak performance, the team was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie. Coach Hamad was previously with the Jordanian team 2009-2013 when it reached the World Cup qualifying Round 3 — the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times since the 1986 qualifiers. 

On the regional level, Jordan played the Round of 16 in the last edition of the Asian Cup. Since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972, Jordan played at the Asian Cup four times: the highlight was at the 13th Asian Cup in 2004, when it lost to Japan in the quarterfinals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37th. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011, 2015 and 2019. 

U-23 Olympic team

Meanwhile, the national U-23 Olympic team plays Kuwait on Wednesday as the West Asia Championship kicked off in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Jordan lost its first Group A match 1-0 to Oman on Monday, and plays Yemen on Friday, with the top team from each group moving on to the semis alongside the best second placed team.

The championship is part of final preparations for the Asian U-23 qualifiers in which Jordan will play in Group F against Turkmenistan on October 25 and Palestine on October 30. The top team will move to the U-23 Asian Championship in Uzbekistan in June 2022.

Jordan lately hosted Syria in two friendlies where it beat guests 1-0 and tied the second 2-2. Head Coach Ahmad Hayel was quoted as saying he was content with the performance and results, noting six players were absent as they were on duty with the national team.

In 2020, the U-23 Olympic squad reached the quarterfinals of the 4th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship — a qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

Previously, in 2018, Jordan’s U-23 team was knocked out of Round 1 of the 3rd AFC U-23 Championship. In 2016, they reached the quarterfinals and in 2014 they finished third. 

In Asian qualifiers prior to the halt in 2020 due to the pandemic, in 2019, the Kingdom’s other national teams were eliminated in Asian competitions. The U-16 squad failed to advance to the U-16 AFC Championship which serves as a qualifier for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. In the earlier edition, Jordan had bowed out of the Round 1 of the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship. Similarly, the U-16 women’s squad failed to advance to the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship.