Jordan U-16 girls football team plays UAE Sunday

AMMAN — The U-16 girls football team plays the UAE on Sunday in their second match in Group B Asian qualifiers currently under way in Bangladesh for the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-16 Women’s Championship.

Jordanian team lost to hosts Bangladesh 1-0 in the opening match making their task of grabbing the sole qualifying slot from the group a bit more challenging. 

Coach Manar Freij said the defeat was tough on the team but they still had a chance to make up for the opening loss. 

“This is not the end. We are going to put this defeat behind us and concentrate on the three matches ahead. We will give it our best,” he said.

Following the UAE match, Jordan will play Iran and India. India plays Bangladesh on Sunday. So far, Iran beat the UAE 9-0.

Twenty-one teams are competing in the qualifiers for the AFC Championship in two zones. West Zone (Groups A and B) teams from West and South/Central Asia, and East Zone (C and D), teams from East Asia and ASEAN. 

Six teams have already booked their spots: Japan, North Korea, China, Thailand — who were the top four in the last championship have qualified automatically. In addition, four group winners will qualify to the championship. South Korea from Group C, and Taiwan from Group D have also now qualified.

Jordan first played at the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship in 2013.

The champions and runners-up at the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship set for Wuhan, China, in November 2015 will represent Asia at the FIFA 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan.