Jordan plays Kyrgyzstan

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-23 football squad plays Kyrgyzstan on Monday in their second Group B qualifier for the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship in Qatar.

Jordan opened the competition, held at Al Qattara Stadium in Al Ain, the UAE, with a 5-0 win over Pakistan. Kyrgyzstan held Kuwait 1-1 in another match. Turkmenistan withdrew from the qualifiers forcing the organisers to change the schedule for a third time.

“The team did what was required. Our upcoming two matches are not easy, but we aim to qualify,” head coach Jamal Abu Abed underlined. The coach had earlier stressed that the changes of schedule thrice had underlined the team’s preparedness, but noted he was “relying on player experience and preparedness”.

The winners of Groups A, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J have been determined (Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Syria, Australia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and China) and along with the winners of Group B and five best second-placed teams from all groups will join hosts in the January 12-30 event, with the 16-team competition also serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The Jordan Professional League has just ended and teams are playing the Jordan Cup without U-23 players. Jazira and Wihdat players joined the U-23 squad after finishing AFC matches.

In preparation for the U-23 Group B qualifiers, Jordan held two training camps, beating Bahrain 2-1 and Bseiteen Club 1-0. They also had a training camp in the UAE, where they lost to Iraq 2-1 after they beat North Korea 3-1 and drew 2-2 with the same rival.