U-16 girls football team plays Iran on Tuesday

AMMAN — The U-16 girls football team takes on leaders Iran on Tuesday in their third match in Group B Asian qualifiers currently under way in Bangladesh for the 2015 Asian Football Confederation U-16 Women’s Championship.

Jordan jumped back into the competition after a solid 8-1 win over the UAE that secured the squad’s first three points and moved to third in the group.

The Kingdom’s team suffered an unexpected 1-0 defeat to hosts Bangladesh in the opening match putting the team under extra pressure in their bid for grabbing the sole qualifying slot from the group.

“We needed this win. It gave the players the confidence and boosted our qualifying chances ahead of the Iran match. We will play for a win, and are ready,” Jordan’s coach Manar Freij said ahead of the Iran match.

Jordan will play India in its last match. 

So far, Iran beat the UAE 9-0, and India 2-1 to keep the lead as Bangladesh beat the UAE 6-0 to take second place. India beat Bangladesh 2-1.

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 and China. Thailand, who was the top four in the last championship, has 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.

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 U-17 Women’s World Cup 2016 in Jordan. 

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