- Technical director Jamal Salami of the national football team has excluded 4 players from the extended list after concluding a week-long domestic camp, ultimately settling on a final roster of 30 players in preparation for the matches against Oman and Iraq in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The excluded players are Khaled Zakaria, Obaida Al-Samarneh, Rizq Bani Hani, and Mohammad Al-Nasser. The first three participated in the local camp, while Al-Nasser was absent due to commitments with Koge in Denmark before being excluded for technical reasons, according to Al-Ghad.
The final list includes: Yazid Abu Layla, Abdullah Al-Fakhouri, Nour Al-Din Bani Atiyah, Mohammad Al-Amousi, Abdullah Naseeb “Diara”, Yousef Abu Al-Jazar, Yazan Al-Arab, Hadi Al-Hourani, Salim Obeid, Hossam Abu Al-Dhabb, Mohammad Abu Al-Nadi, Ehsan Haddad, Adham Al-Quraishi, Ahmad Asaf, Nizar Al-Rashdan, Ibrahim Sa'adah, Nour Al-Din Al-Rawabdeh, Rajai Ayed, Amer Jamous, Mohammad Al-Daoud, Mohammad Abu Hashish, Mohannad Abu Taha, Ali Alwan, Mahmoud Marzouqi, Mohannad Samreen, Mohammad Abu Zureiq “Sharaarah”, Ali Al-Azayzeh, Moussa Al-Taamari, Ibrahim Sabrah, and Yazan Al-Na'imat.
The national team departs this evening to Dammam, Saudi Arabia, to partake in a training camp which includes a friendly match against the Saudi national team next Saturday. They will leave the following day for the Sultanate of Oman to continue preparations, with the other overseas players joining there.
The friendly match holds great importance for the technical staff led by Salami to assess the players' readiness, especially those returning from injuries, and to decide the best lineup for the showdown with Oman on June 5 (June) next.
Nizar Al-Rashdan and Mahmoud Marzouqi will miss the Oman match due to accumulation of warnings, prompting the technical staff to call up replacements in their positions to cover for their absence in the first match.
The national team currently holds the second position in Group 2 with 13 points, behind South Korea in first with 16 points, Iraq in third with 12 points, Oman fourth with 10 points, followed by Palestine with 6 points, and Kuwait last with 5 points.
The national team eagerly awaits the draw for the Arab Cup, scheduled to take place in Qatar at the end of this year, with the draw happening tomorrow to determine the group stage rivals for “Al-Nashama” (The Brave Ones).
Just the other evening, the national team played a friendly against the Olympic team at Petra Stadium, which saw notable interaction from the Olympic players who made sure to take souvenir photos with star player Moussa Al-Taamari, a professional from the French club Rennes, in recognition of his status as Jordan's top football star and his significant participation in the last Asian Cup finals.
Among the players who took photos with Al-Taamari: Momen Al-Saket, Saif Al-Din Darwish, Saleh Freij, Amin Al-Shnayna, Bakr Kalboneh, Anas Al-Khub, Ouda Fakhouri, Ayham Al-Samarneh, Qutaiba Al-Ajalin, Ahmad Al-Magrabi, and Saif Sulaiman.
In related news, the Football Association today releases online tickets for the Jordan vs Iraq match via its official website, in preparation for the game scheduled at 9:15 PM on Tuesday, June 10, at the Amman International Stadium, within the final round of the qualifiers.
The association has renewed its invitation for fans to exclusively purchase tickets from the official platform, warning against dealing with unapproved sources to avoid fraud, as a single ticket could be sold to more than one person and may not allow entry to the stadium.
Jordanian fans are eagerly anticipating the release of the tickets, expecting them to sell out quickly given the significance of the match which could decide the national team's first qualification for the World Cup finals, especially if “Al-Nashama” defeat Oman and Iraq win against South Korea in the ninth round.
The national team relies on a historical advantage after defeating Oman with a clean sweep of four goals in the first leg, marking their biggest victory in the third round, which boosts the team's confidence ahead of the upcoming showdown at the Sultan Qaboos Stadium in the capital, Muscat, early next month.
