Jordan will walk out for its first ever World Cup game on Wednesday against Austria, beginning a stretch that will also take it against Algeria and Argentina. For a side making its debut, the opening match is not just a milestone; it is the first test of whether Jordan can turn years of progress into results on the biggest stage.
Musa al-Taamari is the face of that hope. The baker’s son from Amman has grown into one of Jordan’s rare exports to Europe, and his fine second season for Rennes gives the attack a player who can carry the ball and unsettle defenders. Jordan’s route here was sealed a year ago, when fans in Amman watched Portugal beat Spain in the Uefa Nations League final and celebrated a place that had long seemed out of reach.
The team arrives with a case for belief. Jordan reached the final of the 2023 Asian Cup and outclassed South Korea in the semi-final, results that showed it can compete with bigger names when the game opens up. Jamal Sellami has built around a 3-4-3 shape, while Ali Olwan, who scored all three goals in the win over Oman that secured qualification, was expected to be fit to start despite not having played competitively since February. Yazan al-Naimat is out after a cruciate ligament injury in December, but Odeh Fakhoury has already added an international goal of his own, scoring against Switzerland on 31 May.
That confidence has been tempered by recent losses that will not be ignored. Jordan was beaten 4-1 by Switzerland on 31 May and then lost 2-0 to Colombia in San Diego, two results that exposed the gap between qualification and tournament football. Amer Shafi, who made 179 international appearances for Jordan, has brushed off the setbacks and said there is no cause for concern, arguing that defeats can teach a side what it needs to know before the competitive matches begin.
Jordan and Uzbekistan arrive as Asia’s debutants, but their openings could not look more different. Uzbekistan starts against Colombia before meeting Portugal and DR Congo, and Fabio Cannavaro was brought in soon after the team secured its place. Jordan’s own path now turns on Wednesday: if Sellami’s side can absorb the early pressure and lean on al-Taamari and Olwan, the knockout-stage expectation Shafi has set may stop sounding ambitious and start looking plausible.
