National team plays Kuwait Friday

AMMAN — The National football team plays its first friendly against Kuwait on Friday in the final phase of preparations for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2015 Asian Cup in Australia. The team will face Kuwait again on October 13 as the two matches are expected to give head coach Ray Wilkins a better idea of the line-up named and amend any gaps in the run up to the Asian Cup. While Wilkins has recalled players who had been out of the last line-up under Egyptian head coach Hossam Hassan, goalie Amer Shafie was again removed after being recalled most likely for disciplinary admin issues. Wilkins added two other goalies to his squad this week underlining the move “was aimed at having a good choice of players for the team’s future and giving promising players a chance to gain more competitive experience”. The coach’s choice and players’ preparedness will now be under scrutiny as Jordan plays two matches against the guest team and also faces the U-23 team on Saturday. The U-23 team has just returned from the Asian Games after an impressive run. In preparation for the two friendlies, Wilkins was quoted by the local media as saying: “Players are expected to give their utmost, and head into the upcoming matches with a competitive spirit and taking on the challenge to win.”