Jordan will walk into the World Cup for the first time on Wednesday and do it against Austria, the sort of opening that tells a debutant exactly where it stands. After that, Jordan will meet Algeria and Argentina, a sequence that leaves little room for easing in.
The timing matters because Jordan has spent the past year turning qualification into something more than a one-off celebration. It secured its place a year ago, and three days later fans in Amman were watching Portugal beat Spain in the Uefa Nations League final, the kind of contrast that reminded supporters how far away the biggest stages can feel until they suddenly are not.
Musa al-Taamari is central to why this team carries real belief. The softly spoken baker’s son from Amman has had a fine second season for Rennes and is one of the rare Jordanian exports to Europe, a player who gives Jordan a direct line of attack against more established opposition. Around him, the picture is less tidy. Yazan al-Naimat is out after a cruciate ligament injury in December, Ali Olwan scored all three goals in the win over Oman that sealed qualification but has not played competitively since February, and Odeh Fakhoury marked 31 May with his first international goal against Switzerland even as Jordan lost that match 4-1.
That is the part of the story that softens the gloss on the debut. Jordan can point to the 2023 Asian Cup final and the semi-final win over South Korea as proof that it belongs in difficult company, but its immediate form has been uneven, with a 2-0 loss to Colombia in San Diego adding to the recent setbacks. The coach, Jamal Sellami, remains a firm proponent of 3-4-3, while Amer Shafi, who made 179 international appearances for Jordan, has tried to steady the mood by saying there is no cause for concern and that losing can help a team learn its mistakes before the competitive games begin.
Shafi also expects Jordan to reach the knockout stage, which is a bold line for a side about to play its first World Cup match. The next two fixtures will answer whether that confidence is realism or wishful thinking, because Austria is only the start of a group that then brings Algeria and Argentina. Jordan has already done the hard part by getting here. Now it has to show whether its organisation, counterattacking and team spirit can survive a much harsher test than qualification ever was.
