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MADRID — Goalkeeper Jan Oblak made a series of outstanding saves to help Atletico Madrid hold Real Madrid to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.

In a repeat of last season’s final, cup holder Madrid enjoyed most of the possession and virtually all of the chances — only to leave without a goal and with everything still to do in next week’s second leg at home in the Santiago Bernabeu.

“Well, we have been scoring goals at the Bernabeu recently, so anything is possible,” Atletico captain Gabriel “Gabi” Fernandez said. “It cost us a lot to get into this match and it’s good to have a secure goal. But we’ve got to hang onto the ball more.”

The draw in very windy conditions at Atletico’s Vicente Calderon stadium meant that coach Diego Simeone’s side has been unbeaten in all seven derby matches this season against Madrid — winning four and drawing three.

His team’s excellent defensive record also remained intact. Atletico have not conceded a goal at home in the Champions League since a 4-1 win over AC Milan in March last year.

Juventus beat Monaco 1-0 in Turin in the night’s other first-leg match.

Madrid could have opened the scoring after a free kick in the second minute but Oblak stopped Dani Carvajal’s shot.

Two minutes later, Oblak blocked Gareth Bale’s effort after Atletico defender Diego Godin had failed to make a clearance, and the Atletico keeper followed up by saving Cristiano Ronaldo’s free kick shortly afterward.

Oblak made a spectacular diving save to stop another shot by Bale in the 31st minute and, after denying both James Rodriguez and Luka Modric before the break, was also kept busy in the second half.

Atletico came out with renewed attacking energy after one of coach Diego Simeone’s renowned halftime pep-talks, and midfielder Arda Turan missed a chance when he headed just wide of the near post in the 49th minute.

Madrid defender Sergio Ramos was fortunate not to be penalised for unleashing an elbow into Mario Mandzukic’s eye in the penalty area shortly afterward. The Croatia forward had to leave the field three times to receive treatment on a bleeding eyebrow.

After that, Madrid had to cope with increased pressure as Atletico launched several attacks.

“The first half was very different to the second half,” Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas said. “In the first half we were the better side but we were denied by some fantastic saves by Oblak. The tie is still open, very open.”

Madrid missed a clear chance when striker Karim Benzema chose to pass to Bale instead of shooting, with the Welshman’s shot being blocked by Diego Godin in the 69th minute.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who started with his favoured attacking formation of Ronaldo on the left, Bale running up the right flank and Benzema as striker, substituted the France international with Francisco “Isco” Roman in the 76th minute.

Simeone then brought on Raul Garcia — who has recovered from an arm injury — for Antoine Griezmann, Atletico’s top scorer with 21 goals.

Fernando Torres replaced Jorge “Koke” Resurrecion in the 81st minute and Atletico could have scored a late winner, only for Mandzukic’s shot to be blocked by defender Raphael Varane.

PARIS/ PORTO — One team won nothing last season. The other is closing in on winning everything this season.

Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain both have points to prove in the Champions League quarter-finals. But on Wednesday, PSG will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goals, Marco Verratti’s midfield zest and David Luiz’s forays from the back against the most potent attacking trio in European football: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

Barcelona aren’t worry-free. They squandered a run of nine consecutive wins with a 2-2 draw at Sevilla on Saturday. Neymar’s show of dissatisfaction at his second-half substitution also showed that coach Luis Enrique doesn’t have complete authority and is prone to lapses in strategy and personnel management.

And France is tough territory for Barcelona: The four-time European champions haven’t defeated a French team on French soil since goals from Patrick Kluivert, Rivaldo and Gerard beat Lyon in the group stage of the 2001 Champions League.

PSG and Barcelona lost in the quarter-finals last season. Advancing this time will turn the victor into the team to avoid in the April 24 semifinal draw and a possible favourite for victory in the June 6 final in Berlin.

After their first season in six years without a major trophy in 2014, Spain’s league leaders want silverware again while four-time world player of the year Messi is still at his best.

After winning France’s League Cup last weekend and qualifying for the French Cup final, the French league leaders remain on track for a mega-haul of four trophies.

Missing stars

Red-carded against Chelsea, Ibrahimovic’s one-match suspension deprives PSG of the scorer of 104 goals in three seasons, five shy of Pedro Pauleta’s club scoring record and leaves Edinson Cavani as the focal point of the attack.

“It’s like Barca playing without Messi or Real Madrid without Cristiano Ronaldo,” said Verratti, also suspended.

The Italy international scored one of PSG’s three goals in a group-stage victory the last time Barcelona visited Paris in September.

Luiz scored the opener that night and a header at Chelsea in March that sparked PSG’s comeback with 10 men. With Luiz injured and former Barcelona midfielder Thiago Motta uncertain, France international Yohan Cabaye could play in front of PSG’s defence to break up the Neymar-Suarez-Messi trident, supported by Blaise Matuidi and, possibly, 20-year-old homegrown talent Adrien Rabiot. 

Under siege 

Back against the wall, PSG can still be dangerous, as Chelsea learned.

A four-match French league ban for Ibrahimovic, for a salty rant at referees last month, heightened the siege mentality at PSG. They retaliated by barring players and staff from talking to broadcaster Canal Plus, which broadcast Ibrahimovic’s outburst, for the rest of the season.

Ibrahimovic’s teammates appear determined to prove that they are competitive without him, as they were after his expulsion against Chelsea and when he was injured for the win over Barcelona last September.

“It’s going to be tough without Ibra, because he’s our reference on the field,” PSG midfielder Lucas Moura said. “Even without Ibra we can do a great job, like the last time here against Barcelona.”

Chinks of weakness

Luis Enrique needs to quickly fix weaknesses that Sevilla exposed.

Unconvincing defence from Gerard Pique and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo allowed Barcelona’s opponents to claw back from a 2-0 deficit. In attack, Suarez was sloppy, missing three clear chances.

Continued frailty in defence or attack could compromise Barcelona’s push for a Champions League-Spanish league-Copa del Rey triple.

The good news for Barcelona: Messi sounds up to the task.

“I was inconsistent last season. I was out for a while due to injury, missing quite a few games. When I came back I didn’t feel right. It was a year that I have tried to quickly forget,” Messi said in an interview on the team website. “Now, fortunately, I feel very good.” 

Lucky charm 

PSG have been unbeatable this season with Marquinhos on the field, not losing one of the Brazil defender’s 34 matches, most recently the 4-0 win on Saturday against Bastia in the League Cup final.

That streak of invincibility eclipsed George Weah’s record of 33 matches without defeat for PSG in 1993-94. 

Bayern-Porto

Even without a handful of players, Bayern Munich will be favoured when they face FC Porto on Wednesday in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The German powerhouse travels to Portugal as a five-time tournament champion and a finalist in two of the last three seasons.

Porto have won the trophy twice and are unbeaten in the competition this season, but are into the quarter-final stage for only the first time since 2004 — when they won the title under then-coach Jose Mourinho.

Bayern injuries 

Bayern will have to do without winger Franck Ribery and midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger as they pursue their fourth straight semifinal appearance. Ribery is nursing an ankle injury and Schweinsteiger is out with the flu.

Bayern, who are unbeaten in Portugal, were already missing Arjen Robben, David Alaba, Mehdi Benatia and Javi Martinez.

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said the match in Porto “won’t be easy, but we don’t have a problem with being the favourite and I think we can reach the semifinals”.

Porto’s problem 

While Bayern have a comfortable 10-point lead in the German championship, Porto are fighting to make up lost ground in domestic competition where they lie second, three points behind Benfica.

Porto coach Julen Lopetegui, in his first Champions League campaign, said he envies Bayern coach Pep Guardiola for having the luxury of resting some players last weekend.

“Bayern changed a lot of players because they are 10 points ahead. We did what we had to do and we’ll try to recover as best we can,” Lopetegui said.

The Spaniard is also worrying about the fitness of forwards Jackson Martinez, the Portuguese league’s top scorer, Adrian Lopez and Cristian Tello.

Good memories

Porto are dreaming of a repeat of the 1987 Champions League final, when they beat Bayern with a 2-1 comeback win that was sealed by Madjer’s backheel.

Porto are unbeaten in the Champions League this season.

AMMAN — Jordan was drawn in Group B on Tuesday in qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which are also doubling as part of the qualification for the 2019 Asian Cup.

Jordan will join Australia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh as it seeks to advance in both competitions. Forty teams are in the second qualifying round which runs through nine months from this June until March 2016, with the teams playing home and away matches in a round-robin format. The competing nations, divided into eight groups of five, will battle for places in the final qualifying round, and also for berths at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 2019. 

The seeding was based on the latest edition of FIFA World Rankings hence Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, China and Iraq were the top seeds and avoided playing against one another. 

India, Bhutan, Taiwan, Cambodia, Yemen and Timor-Leste, the six lowest ranked teams played Round 1 and advanced.

This week, Jordan dropped out of the top 100 to 103rd and settled for 13th among Asian teams. The latest drop came following two friendlies in which they lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia and 1-0 to Syria. The results were vital in deciding the team's position among Asian teams.

The national team is a transitional phase after they failed to reach the quarters of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. It was the third time since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972 that Jordan reached the competition finals: the pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when they lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37th in August 2004. In 2011, Jordan again reached the quarter-finals.

Jordan had the most memorable World Cup qualifiers in the last edition when they played then World's 6th ranked Uruguay in their intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. Jordan lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champs 0-0 in the away match, losing the chance to move to the World Cup for the first time. 

The Kingdom had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in 1985. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan had reached in the past seven times at the qualifiers since 1986.

Draw results 

Group A: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Timor Leste, Malaysia
Group B: Australia, Jordan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh
Group C: China, Qatar, Maldives, Bhutan, Hong Kong
Group D: Iran, Oman, India, Turkmenistan, Guam
Group E: Japan, Syria, Afghanistan, Singapore, Cambodia
Group F: Iraq, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan
Group G: South Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Myanmar, Laos
Group H: Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Philippines, North Korea, Yemen

AMMAN —  Some of the most important decision makers in motorsport were in Jordan for the FIA senate meeting at the Dead Sea, according to a statement from Jordan Motorsport.

Hosted by senate member HRH Prince Feisal, chairman of Jordan Motorsport, the meeting took place on April 8 with FIA President Jean Todt among those attending.

“It is an honour for Jordan to stage such an important meeting and we have enjoyed hosting our many friends from the FIA family to enjoy our famous hospitality,” Prince Feisal was quoted as saying in the statement.

Prior to the meeting, the senate members enjoyed Jordan’s touristic charms, including a visit to Petra.

Jordan has enjoyed a strong working relationship with the FIA having previously hosted the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2008, 2009 and 2011.

“The Kingdom is in the process of looking to host the WRC hopefully, even as soon as 2016.” Jordan Motorsport and Jordan want to establish a long-term partnership with the WRC and are working hard with the WRC community to bring it back to the Middle East, according to an informed insider.

The Jordan Rally has been a round of the Middle Eastern Rally Championship since the 1980s, but it wasn’t until 2008 that it made its debut on the world stage, when Jordan became the first Arab country to host a round of the WRC.

AMMAN — Wihdat and Jazira will play decisive matches in Stage 4 of the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup starting Tuesday.

Jazira will host Bahrain’s Hidd in Group B. They earlier held the guest team 1-1 after two other 1-1 draws against Iraq’s Shurta and Palestine’s Wadi Nes. Earlier, Shurta beat Wadi Nes 6-2 and held Bahrain’s Hidd 2-2.

“We have trained hard to overcome the state of the team in the past three matches. We need to start scoring and will play accordingly,” Jazira coach Issa Turk said after the team’s practice.

In Group A, Wihdat, who lead the group, seek to beat Syria’s Wihda when they meet on Wednesday in Irbid. Wihdat lost 1-0 to Wihda on a penalty kick early in the match. Wihdat beat Oman’s Nahda 3-0 and Salam Zgharta 5-1. 

Wihda share lead Wihdat on goal difference followed by Lebanon’s Salam Zgharta who beat Oman’s Nahda 2-1.

Jordan Professional League champs Wihdat hope to advance in the AFC Cup this season after they exited the AFC Champions League losing 1-0 to ACL and AFC Cup titleholders Kuwait’s Qadissieh. Locally, they still have a slim lead in the League but their morale is up after two consecutive wins over Shabab Urdun and Baqaa. 

Wihdat have never won the AFC Cup in the past seven times they competed while it is the first time for Jazira, who took part after time after two-time AFC Cup champs and League runner-up Faisali declined to participate this season.

The AFC Cup 2015 includes 32 clubs from across the continent competing in eight groups with the top two from each group going on to the Round of 16.

Last year, first time AFC Cup competitors Jordan Cup champs That Ras exited the Round of 16 while former AFC Cup champs Shabab Urdun exited in Round 1. They were also eliminated by Bahrain’s Hidd in their preliminary round of the AFC Champions League.

The second-tier Asian club competition was won by Syria’s Jeish in its inaugural edition in 2004. Jordan’s Faisali won in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun in 2007.

AFC Cup Standings

Group A

Group B

SHANGHAI — For a team that got knocked out of the first round of qualifying for the third straight Formula One race, McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso seemed improbably upbeat at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday.

For Alonso, each race is part of the learning process for the new-look McLaren team, and the Spaniard is coping with the ups and downs along the way.

“We’re enjoying growing up together as a team,” he said. “We can look at each other in a few months and be proud of how far we’ve come.”

McLaren’s new partnership with Honda hasn’t gone as smoothly as either side would have hoped three races into the season. Button and Alonso have had a host of problems with their engines and haven’t managed a top-10 finish between them. At the Malaysian Grand Prix two weeks ago, neither even managed to finish the race.

But both drivers emphasised how much progress they’ve made since Malaysia with the pace of the car, even if they’ve failed to improve their positions in qualifying. Button and Alonso were 17th and 18th respectively in Saturday’s qualifying in Shanghai.

“I’d say we looked pretty competitive compared to the first two races of the year. We’re within two seconds of the quickest car,” Button said. “Obviously, we hoped for more in qualifying and thought we had a good chance of getting into the [second round], but it wasn’t the case.”

McLaren is one of the most successful teams in Formula One history, with eight constructors’ championships, and both Button and Alonso are former world champions. But little was expected of the team this year as Honda plays catch-up to the established engine providers in its return to the sport after six years away.

“I’d hesitate to use the word ‘disappointing’ to describe this afternoon’s qualifying performance, but I think we’d all hoped for a little more, particularly after looking like we’d made a respectable improvement in all three of this weekend’s practice sessions,” McLaren racing director Eric Boullier said.

Alonso, who joined McLaren this season from Ferrari and indicated this week he’d like to finish his career with the British team, said he would consider finishing Sunday’s race a success for the team.

“That’ll allow us to learn more about the car and uncover any possible problems,” he said. “Obviously, two DNFs in Malaysia wasn’t an ideal situation for us, so, regardless of the result, we need to make the finish here in China.”

SHANGHAI — If Mercedes was concerned about the progress of chief rival Ferrari this Formula One season, its drivers didn’t show it during qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Hamilton edging his Mercedes teammate for pole position with a time of 1 minute, 35.782 seconds on Saturday.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was nearly a full second behind in third place.

It was Hamilton’s third straight pole to start the new F1 season — and his fifth overall at the Shanghai International Circuit.

“China continues to be a good place for me. I guess the circuit fits my style more than others and I enjoy driving it,” Hamilton said. “There’s a long race ahead and the Ferraris are very quick once again here, so the job is far from done.”

Indeed, Hamilton took the pole in his last race at the Malaysian Grand Prix two weeks ago, but it was a resurgent Vettel who was standing at the top of the podium at the end of the weekend.

Hamilton’s loss was partly down to tyre degradation in the tropical heat, but Mercedes boss Toto Wolff still deemed it a “wake-up call” for the most dominant team in F1.

Wolff was optimistic his team could maintain its advantage over Ferrari on the long straights at the Shanghai International Raceway on Sunday, but he acknowledged that having faster speed was not everything.

“We also know that the gaps shrink in race conditions and we saw in Malaysia that they could extend their tyre life beyond what we could achieve, so we need to be careful of that tomorrow,” he said.

Rosberg was clearly dejected by finishing behind his teammate yet again, this time by just 0.04 seconds. When his team informed him over the radio how close he was to Hamilton, Rosberg replied with an exasperated “Oh, come on guys!”

“It’s just four-hundredths and that makes it even more annoying because it’s just very, very close,” he said.

Rosberg challenged Hamilton for the drivers’ championship until the very end of last season, but he’s yet to recapture that same driving form at the start of 2015.

“I’ve focused on race pace with my setup and I know that tyres will be the decisive factor tomorrow. So I will be aiming to put a lot of pressure on Lewis ahead of me,” he said.

Vettel, too, believes the Ferrari have shown enough pace in practice sessions in China to keep the pressure on Mercedes.

“We knew that it would be tough today in qualifying to be really, really close,” he said. “I think for us, we’re fairly happy to make sure we are right behind them.”

Vettel’s teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, will start in sixth position on Sunday, behind the two Williams drivers, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, who were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 were Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, Lotus’ Romain Grosjean and the two Sauber drivers, Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.

Ricciardo, who captured the only three races not won by Hamilton or Rosberg last year, said he’s feeling increasingly comfortable in his Red Bull car after early season struggles with the engine and brake system.

“Consistency is what we were after, definitely. I think we’ve got that back now,” he said. “For sure the team has the ability to make a big step up. Seeing what Ferrari has done, it only means it’s within reason Red Bull can do it as well.”

For the McLaren drivers, who had been upbeat about their team’s progress since the Malaysian Grand Prix, it was another early exit in qualifying.

For the third straight race, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were eliminated in the first qualifying session, finishing 17th and 18th respectively. They were just 0.2 seconds below the cut line this time, however, which is a closer gap than in the two previous qualifying races.

“I guess we hoped we might be just a bit closer than we were today,” Button said. “In practice, we’d looked a bit more competitive, certainly.”

PARIS — It’s time for Paris Saint-Germain to find out if the overseas money that has flooded into the club in recent years has been well invested.

Since Qatar Sports Investments completed its buyout, PSG have become one of the richest teams in Europe with an estimated budget of 490 million euros ($528 million).

The Qatari money has brought plenty of stars to the Parc des Princes and a reservoir of super-subs that will be needed in the closing stages of the season. As injuries mount within Laurent Blanc’s squad, the quality of PSG bench will be decisive in its quest for an unprecedented quadruple.

Following its impressive 4-1 win over Saint-Etienne in the semifinals of the French Cup, PSG is aiming for its first title this season against Bastia in Saturday’s League Cup final. The French league leaders are also in good position to defend their title in that competition and host Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals next week. They have an easier task against second-division side Auxerre in the French Cup final at the end of May.

But the team is depleted ahead of these crucial encounters, with Edinson Cavani, David Luiz, Thiago Motta and Lucas Moura all missing through injuries.

To add to PSG concerns, PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not eligible to play against Barcelona after he was sent off against Chelsea in the previous round and suspended for one match. Although he is available for the League Cup final, Ibrahimovic is also facing a four-match ban for an offensive rant against referees last month.

The Sweden international scored a hat trick against Saint-Etienne to extend his tally with the French side to 102 goals in less than three years.

Against Saint-Etienne, PSG substitutes made a big impact, with Ezequiel Lavezzi scoring his fifth goal this season and the inexperienced Adrien Rabiot stepping up to the challenge alongside Yohan Cabaye. The 29-year-old Cabaye has been hampered by injuries since his arrival in the French capital in January 2014 but the combined absence of Luiz and Motta is giving him the chance to start in big games.

“As with all the players, I expect from him to bring his quality. He has been very unlucky and that prevented him from integrating,” Blanc said. “But we have never given up on him, because we all know that a player needs attention and comfort when injured.”

With Marco Verratti also suspended against Barcelona, Cabaye is likely to be given a starting role while Blanc has plenty of options in defence, with Gergory Van der Wiel and Serge Aurier in competition for a slot on the right flank.

“The more you play, the greater are the chances of sustaining injuries. It’s simple arithmetic,” Blanc said. “But a big club playing in every competition needs to have a big squad and that is the case with us. Unfortunately we were hit by some injuries [in the 3-2 win] against Marseille, but we have to make the best of it.”

Besides the League Cup final, there are league games also scheduled over the weekend. Here are some things to know ahead of the matches:

Gignac heading out?

It’s unlikely that Marseille fans will see Andre-Pierre Gignac scoring again against bitter rival PSG like he did last weekend.

Gignac, the league’s second best striker with 18 goals, will be out of contract at the end of the season. According to Marseille President Vincent Labrune, the only way for Gignac to stay at the club is to agree on a reduction of his reported 330,000 euro ($355,000) monthly wages.

“We have always been clear to the player and his representative that we can’t afford such a salary anymore,” Labrune said. “It dates back to a period when the club’s economy was different and when Marseille qualified for the Champions League two times out of three.”

Gignac’s agent, Jean-Pierre Cano, has denied ongoing talks with Dynamo Moscow over a possible transfer of the France forward but said he has not met with Labrune since October.

“Would Andre-Pierre like to stay at OM? Yes, certainly. Will he stay at OM? I don’t know for the moment,” Cano said. “But whatever happens, the most important thing is to underline his deep attachment to the club. We won’t let anybody fuel the idea that Andre-Pierre voluntarily arrived at this situation with his contract.”

Carvalho back with Monaco 

After a scoreless draw with Montpellier left the club seven points behind PSG in the race for the title, Monaco has received a welcome boost with the return of veteran defender Ricardo Carvalho.

The 36-year-old Carvalho, who picked up a knee injury with Portugal last month, said he is fit enough to play in Friday’s match at Caen.

“I was ready to come back (against Montpellier), but the coach preferred to save me,” he said. “I am ready for the next match.”

After two consecutive draws, fourth-place Monaco trails second-place Lyon by six points in the battle for automatic Champions League qualification.

“It will be difficult for us now to get into the top two, but it is still possible,” Carvalho said. “We must look ahead now and forget about the last two games.” 

Guegan to the rescue

Olivier Guegan has been given the task of keeping Reims from relegation.

Following the club’s third consecutive loss, head coach Jean-Luc Vasseur has been fired and replaced by his assistant.

Guegan, a former Reims player, has been at the club for five years and worked with former coach Hubert Fournier as they led the Champagne side to the first division.

With seven matches remaining, including games against PSG and Lyon, Reims is three points above safety before hosting Nice on Saturday.

AMMAN — Jordan dropped two more spots to 103rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings issued on Thursday.

Jordan dropped to 13th among Asian teams trailing Iran (40), Japan (50), South Korea (57), Australia (63), the UAE (68), Uzbekistan (73), China (82), Oman (96), and Iraq (86), Saudi Arabia (95), Oman (97) and Qatar (99). The top 10 is still led by Germany, followed by Argentina, Belgium, Columbia, Brazil, Netherlands, Portugal, Uruguay, Switzerland and Spain. France and Italy dropped out of the top 10.

The latest drop came following two friendlies in the past two weeks the results of which were vital in deciding the team's position among Asian teams ahead of the upcoming draw for qualifiers doubling as part of the qualification for the 2018 World Cup and the 2019 Asian Cup. 

Jordan lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia and 1-0 to Syria.

Had Jordan scored two wins, it would have secured a top eight position as head of a group and avoided playing heavyweight Asian teams in the first phase of the qualifiers.

In their last official competition, Jordan was eliminated from the 2015 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, following which it dropped out of the top 100. Jordan's best ever FIFA ranking was 37th in 2004 after reaching the Asian Cup quarter-final which they repeated in 2011.

Jordan's FIFA monthly rank

CAIRO — FIFA presidential candidate Luis Figo on Wednesday disputed the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) claim that all 54 votes from the continent will go to incumbent Sepp Blatter in the presidential elections next month.

The former Portugal international, in Egypt at the CAF Congress to canvass for votes, told Reuters he did not believe all Africa was solidly behind Blatter, who seeks reelection on May 29 against Figo, HRH Prince Ali and the Dutch football association president Michael van Praag.

“I feel there’s a lot of respect for CAF among all the African federations but I’m positive that [CAF president] Mr [Issa] Hayatou did not speak in the name of the 54 members of the confederation,” said the former Barcelona and Real Madrid midfielder.

“Even when he [Hayatou] announced he would support Blatter, we could notice a difference from past congresses when a statement like that normally is followed by a standing ovation.”

“This time we heard just a normal applause, which confirms my idea that a lot of African countries understand and agree with the need to change for the better of everyone, especially the national associations.”

“In fact there were federation presidents who ensured me they would vote for me but they were reluctant to saying this out loud because they feared reactions against them, their federations and even their countries,” said Figo.

“It also to end this kind of atmosphere that I decided to be a candidate. Football should be about a beautiful game and people should be able to express themselves freely and openly.”

The CAF congress in Cairo ended on Tuesday with Hayatou declaring Africa’s complete support for Blatter’s re-election but on all previous occasions when the CAF chief has promised a block of African votes, many have broken ranks.

When Blatter came to power in 1998, Hayatou pledged Africa’s votes to rival Lennart Johansson of Sweden but most defied him to vote Blatter into power.

When Hayatou stood against Blatter in 2002, almost half the African countries voted for the Swiss rather than their own confederation president.