Jordan's Lineup Unsettled Plays Costa Rica, Nigeria

(MENAFN- Jordan Times) AMMAN – Jordan is ready to face Costa Rica on Friday in the first of the last four friendlies ahead of the 2026 World Cup this summer.

Team stars Mousa Ta'mari, Yazan Al Arab and others have joined the squad ranked 64^thto face World No. 51 Costa Rica and 26^th ranked Nigeria on March 31 as coach Jamal Sellami tries to finalise his lineup with key players doubtful for the World Cup including Yazan Nue'imat and Adham Qurashi, who both underwent surgery for torn ACL. Also absent for now are Ali Alwan who suffered a heel injury, team captain Ehsan Haddad, who has been out for the season, as well asTamer Bani Odeh and Husam Smeiri, who excelled in the Arab Cup.

The squad has regrouped in Turkey after the Jordan Football Association (JFA) had to relocate the four-nation tourney they planned to host Costa Rica, Nigeria and Iran. However, with regional tensions escalating, the senior squad will try to assess the lineup after the current matches, before playing Switzerland on May 31 and Columbia on June 7 just ahead of the World Cup Group J matches against soccer greats Argentina, Algeria and Austria.

In the past few months, Jordan's World Cup preparations agenda included a series of friendlies in which it held Russia 0-0, beat the Dominican Republic 3-0, lost 1-0 to Bolivia and 4-2 to Albania, held Mali 0-0, and lost to 7-time World Cup qualifiers Tunisia 3-2.

By finishing runner-up at the 2023 Asian Cup, followed by a historic first-time qualification to the 2026 edition of the World Cup in their 7^th time in the qualifiers since 1986, Jordan booked their spot in the next edition of the 2027 Asian Cup a well.

The Kingdom also finished runner-up to eventual champions Morocco at the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar, despite missing many key players on the injury list or club duty including key striker Mousa Ta'mari (Stade Rennais FC- France), Yazan Al Arab (FC Seoul-Korea), Mohammad Abu Al Nadi and Noor Rawabdeh (Selangor FC - Malaysia), Tamer Bani Odeh (West Bromwich Albion FC- England) and Ibrahim Sabra who is on loan from Goztepe -Turkey to NL Lokomotiva Zagreb, Croatia.

Also joining the senior squad in Turkey was the U-23 squad who will play two friendliesagainstKyrgyzstan and Russiaas well as the U-15youth squad who lost to Russia 2-1 and will play them again during the camp.

The 23 team last exited the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup quarters after losing to eventual and reigning champs Japan.

The U20 squad stayed home for a local trainingcamp after the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) postponed the 4^th WAFF U-20 Championship. The team has the U-20 Arab Cup and the August qualifiers for the 2027 U-20Asian Cup on their agenda while the West Asian event remains postponed.

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