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AMMAN  — Jordan play Kyrgyzstan in its return leg Group B qualifier for the 2018 World Cup doubling, as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup.

Jordan will be seeking to come home with an away win that would maintain its lead atop the group after it scored two consecutive wins and beat Asian champs Australia 2-0 and Tajikistan 3-0 in the last two qualifiers.

In the first leg, Jordan was held to a disappointing 0-0 draw with Kyrgyzstan. It also beat Tajikistan 3-1, Bangladesh 4-0. Forty teams are playing home and away in a round-robin format in the current second qualifying round which runs until March 2016 

Before leaving to Bishkek, Jordan beat Malta 2-0 in a friendly as part of its final training camp in Turkey.

“We do not take anything for granted. Every match is important and the team needs to focus on winning to reach the Asian Championship and keep World Cup qualifying chances alive,” Jordan Football Association Deputy Chairman Salah Sabra told the press. 

Jordan’s head coach Paul Put added: “We already have four wins and one draw. We need to maintain our lead and secure qualification to the next round.” 

Australia beat Kyrgyzstan 3-0 last week and is now second in the group. It earlier beat Tajikistan 3-0, Bangladesh 5-0 and Kyrgyzstan 2-1. Tajikistan beat Bangladesh 5-0 to score its first win. Bangladesh is last after it held Tajikistan 1-1 and lost to Kyrgyzstan 3-1.

After the two wins and a 3-0 defeat of Iraq in a friendly, Jordan went up 17 spots to 82nd in the latest FIFA World Rankings — its biggest leap in a year.

The Kingdom had the most memorable World Cup qualifying journey in 2013 when it lost a possible chance to play at the World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. 

It lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champs 0-0 in the away match. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the qualifiers as of 1985. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times in the qualifiers since 1986.

In the Asian Cup, Jordan reached the Championship three times since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972. The pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when it lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA ranking of 37th in August 2004. In 2011, Jordan again reached the quarter-finals.

Earlier in 2015, Jordan’s line-up was led by Briton Ray Wilkins under whom the team failed to advance past the first round of the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. Ahmad Abdul Qader took over in the transitional phase under whom the team played the first qualifier. Belgian Put took over since July.

  Group B standings

LONDON — Swiss maestro Roger Federer will have an early chance to disprove the notion that Novak Djokovic is untouchable when they meet in their second round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday.

Federer outclassed Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-2 to kickstart his 14th consecutive appearance at the season-ender on Sunday, a few hours after World No. 1 Djokovic had demolished Japan’s World No.  8 Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1.

Both already look odds on to take the top two spots in Stan Smith Group, but Tuesday’s 43rd meeting between the pair (both have won 21) looks set to decide who will advance to the semifinals as group winner.

Djokovic has won his last 23 matches and has been unstoppable since he picked up his third Grand Slam of the year by beating Federer in the US Open final.

Asked if the near 7,000-point gap between Djokovic and the rest in the ATP ranking points was proof of the Serb’s invincibility, Federer was not convinced.

“That depends on who looks at the gap,” Federer, who pulled out of last year’s final against Djokovic with a back problem, said. “I don’t think I’m that far off.

“Then again, let’s speak in two days. Two days is not the match that I care the most about, to be quite honest.

“It’s an important match, very important. But it’s not the match. It’s going to be interesting to see how I play that one. I’m curious to find out myself.”

Federer knows he can ill afford the sloppy start he made against Berdych when two double faults gifted the Czech a 2-0 lead. After that, however, he barely put a foot wrong.

“It was not the best start. I have to clean that up clearly for the next match,” he said.

Sunday’s opening matches were reminiscent of many of the one-sided singles matches here last year, and Federer said the slowish court surface meant it was very difficult to turn around a match once you fall behind.

“Maybe it’s the end of the season, maybe it’s the surface, we saw the faster results here last year,” he said.

“Seems like whoever takes charge of the baseline, and if you cannot serve your way out of trouble often enough, which is hard to do here because of the pace of the court, the guy from the baseline wins, the better one.

“That’s why we see some crushing scores.”

Golden State Warriors won an 11th consecutive game on Saturday night, beating Nets 107-99 in overtime with Brooklyn left with only themselves to blame.

Reserve Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala sent the game to overtime with a tying three-pointer with 5.9 seconds remaining in regulation, allowing them to outlast Nets and remain the NBA’s lone unbeaten team.

But in between, Nets centre Brook Lopez couldn’t convert a lob pass from no more than half-a-metre in front of the rim as time expired, extending the game and eventually leading to the Nets’ ninth loss in 10 games this season.

“I think our tank was on empty emotionally and physically,” Nets coach Lionel Hollins said of the overtime that immediately followed Lopez’s miss.

“It’s a heartbreaking loss. We had a chance to have our shot at point blank and it didn’t go in.”

Brooklyn, which completed its road trip 1-3, had two shots at a win, but point guard Jarrett Jack misfired on an 5.5m before Lopez’s miss at the horn.

The play began with five-tenths of a second remaining, with Nets small forward Joe Johnson inbounding from under Brooklyn basket.

“We feel like we should have had this one,” Lopez said. “I blew that chip shot. Joe made a perfect pass. It was exactly the way the play was drawn up.

“I owe Joe. He put that on a platter and I just blew it.”

Nets didn’t respond well to the misfortune. They scored only two points in the five-minute overtime after they had fallen 10 down in the first 3:10.

Power forward Draymond Green had a hoop and two assists, capping the second triple-double of his career, in the winning burst as Golden State became just the 11th team in NBA history to open a season 11-0.

Warriors won despite a 13-of-31 shooting from the field by star point guard Stephen Curry, who led all scorers with 34 points. Curry missed 11 of his 16 3-point attempts.

Warriors interim coach Luke Walton hailed Iguodala’s clutch three-pointer, which produced a tie at 97 after Nets power forward Thaddeus Young had given his team a three-point lead with 9.9 seconds left.

“Andre plays his best when you need him to,” Walton said. “He’s a luxury to have on the court. He’s never rattled.”

DEAD SEA — Husam Salem on Friday was crowned champion of the fifth and last round of the Speed Test Championship held at Sky Dive Racetrack with the participation of 62 drivers.

Even with this win the title went to Mohamed Tayseer, who topped the standings with 98 points, followed by Jad Nabas (72 points) and Gaith Wraikat (66 points).

Tayseer finished the fifth round in second place.

“It was an amazing event and I was able to take the lead from the start. I have been focusing on rallying more, but I promise to be back stronger in 2016 Speed Test Championship,” Salem told The Jordan Times.

“It was great to feel the power of a Speed Test event and on Friday I felt it and this will make me want to do more Speed Test runs next year,” he added.

Salem clocked 1m06.79s in a Mitsubishi Gladiator to take the first place in the final round, followed by Tayseer (1m07.94s) in a Mitsubishi Evo6 and Nabas (1m09.49s) in a Toyota Corola GT.

Tayseer expressed his happiness to winning the title saying that this is a great moment.

“I feel proud and encouraged to do more next season and I know it will not be easy, but I think I can do it again,” he said.

“I believe that there are many talented young drivers in Jordan and they could make a lot of difference if they find the right guidance,” he added.

ZURICH, — FIFA has approved five candidates for its February presidential election amid the worst crisis in its history, after barring Liberia's Musa Bility on integrity grounds and leaving out UEFA chief Michel Platini while he remains under suspension.

Platini, the original favourite to succeed Sepp Blatter as head of global football’s governing body, was not admitted because he has been suspended for 90 days pending a full Ethics Committee investigation.

FIFA had already announced that it would not process former French international football star while he was suspended, but could review its position if he wins an appeal against the ban.

Buffeted by a series of scandals over the last few years, FIFA was thrown into turmoil in May by the US indictments of 14 football officials, including two FIFA vice-presidents and sports marketing executives for alleged corruption.

Blatter, also suspended for 90 days, is facing criminal investigation in Switzerland over a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.1 million) payment from FIFA to Platini. Both men have denied wrongdoing.

FIFA's electoral committee said on Thursday the five approved presidential candidates were HRH Prince Ali, Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France, UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino of Switzerland and South Africa businessman Tokyo Sexwale.

"The integrity check included a review of corporate records, litigation cases, bankruptcy proceedings, potential regulatory actions taken against the candidate and a review of media reports concerning potential red flags [fraudulent behaviour, match manipulation, human rights violations, etc.]," the committee said in a statement.

Bility was not admitted "in view of the content of the integrity check report relating to him", it said.

"For reasons of protection of personality rights, the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee — while it has explained its considerations in detail to Musa Hassan Bility — will not comment publicly on the specifics of its decision."

Sheikh Salman has dismissed as "false, nasty lies" allegations that he was involved in human rights abuses against pro-democracy activists during a 2011 uprising in Bahrain when he was head of the Gulf Arab country's football association.

The electoral committee said it had "assessed any allegations against the candidates carefully, including those against Sheikh Salman concerning his alleged involvement into the events in Bahrain in 2011".

It said no evidence of "any personal and direct involvement" by Sheikh Salman in rights abuses had been found, so the committee had upheld his candidacy.

There are no clear favourites to win the election, in which each of the 209 national associations (FAs) who are affiliated with FIFA hold one vote.

Critics say they are heavily influenced by the continental confederations, such as Europe's UEFA or Africa's CAF, which sometimes ask their members to vote as a bloc for one candidate. But as voting is secret, FAs can easily disobey their confederations without being detected, which makes voting unpredictable.

Infantino announced his intention to stand only one day before the registration deadline in October, and is expected to withdraw if Platini is allowed back into the race.

Last month, Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, one of the top powerbrokers in global sport and a member of FIFA's executive committee, said he hoped there would be "coordination" between Infantino and Sheikh Salman if Platini was unable to run.

Champagne has alleged that already in this election "there is a pre-campaign of arrangements in five-star hotels behind closed doors". He was alluding to alleged back-room deals in which certain candidates do not run against each other and one then drops out to clear the way for the other to win.

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Stephen Curry scored 28 points and Andre Iguodala added 20 as Golden State Warriors matched a club record for most wins to start a season with a 100-84 victory over Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.

Harrison Barnes added 19 points for Golden State, which won its ninth straight to open the season. Curry’s was 9 of 21 from the field, but only 3 of 10 from outside the arc. Warriors finished shooting 41 per cent from 3-point range, 11 of 27.

Marc Gasol had 26 points, Zach Randolph added 19 and Tony Allen finished with 15 as Grizzlies lost their fourth straight.

San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points in his return to Portland, leading the Spurs to a 113-101 win over Trail Blazers.

Aldridge, who played nine seasons in Portland before leaving as a free agent this summer, added six rebounds. Kawhi Leonard finished with 20 points for Spurs, who won their third straight.

Damian Lillard led Blazers with 22 points, including five 3-pointers, and nine assists. Portland has lost three straight.

In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 31 points to lead Mavericks over Los Angeles Clippers 118-108 in DeAndre Jordan’s first visit since backing out on an agreement to sign with Mavericks in free agency.

A tight second half upstaged the sideshow of the return of Jordan, who was booed throughout before coach Doc Rivers pulled him in the fourth quarter with Dallas successfully using the hack-a-Jordan tactic against one of the NBA’s worst free throw shooters.

As Dallas pulled away in the final minute, the crowd chanted a derogatory phrase at Jordan, who had nine points and 11 rebounds with a minus-23 scoring margin while he was in the game.

Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 21 points.

Atlanta Hawks downed New Orleans Pelicans 106-98 after Al Horford scored 26 points.

After trailing by 12 points in the first half, Hawks pulled away down the stretch. Paul Millsap converted a couple of three-point plays to help seal the victory for Atlanta, which bounced back from a home loss to Minnesota two nights earlier.

Denver’s Kenneth Faried rebounded Danilo Gallinari’s errant shot in the lane for a putback with 5 seconds remaining to give Nuggets a 103-102 victory over Milwaukee Bucks, while Toronto Raptors defeated Philadelphia 76ers after Kyle Lowry scored 23 points and Luis Scola had 21.

In other games Nik Vucevic hit a fallaway 18-footer at the buzzer as the Orlando Magic edged Los Angeles Lakers 101-99, Charlotte Hornets edged New York Knicks 95-93, Indiana Pacers beat Boston Celtics 102-91, Brooklyn Nets overcame Houston Rockets 106-98 and Los Angeles Kings were 101-92 winners over Detroit Pistons.

AMMAN — The fifth and last round of the Speed Test Championship kicks off on Friday with the participation of 62 drivers at the Sky Dive Racetrack in the Dead Sea area.

With 80 points under his bonnet, Mohammed Tayseer is guaranteed the title but will work on sealing the win with another victory.

Jad Nabas is in second place, with 56 points while Gaith Wraikat in third, with 52 points.

Othman Naseef, Jordan Motorsports CEO, told The Jordan Times that it will be an epic ending.

“The focus will be on the second and third places as Tayseer has already guaranteed the title so the battle will be who takes the first place of the final Test,” he said.

“We can easily say that this Speed Test season was very challenging and competitive but we managed to increase the fans base and encourage more drivers to be a part of the championship,” he added.

The event will witness the return of Nasser Abu Touha, who has a long history in the Speed Test championship and will try to stop Tayseer from taking another first place.

Husam Salem, who turned to rallying with impressive results, is coming back for another Speed Test on Friday saying: “The Speed Test was my first attempt in auto sports and I cannot miss the chance to be part of it again and that is what I will do this weekend.”

The New Orleans Pelicans snapped a six-game losing start to the season with a 120-105 victory over Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, but celebrations for a first win of the campaign were muted in the wake of an injury to Andrew Davis.

Star forward Davis suffered a right hip contusion at the conclusion of the first half and did not return. He was not on the bench during the second half nor in the locker room after the game. X-rays came back negative.

“He got hit with a knee,” Pelican coach Alvin Gentry told reporters, adding he was not sure if Davis would make the trip to Atlanta for Wednesday’s game against Hawks.

“Such is life,” he added with a wry smile.

Ryan Anderson recorded his first double-double of the season, scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds off the bench to lead New Orleans.

Davis, Eric Gordon, Ish Smith and Toney Douglas scored 17 apiece for Pelicans, while Jrue Holiday added 10 points in a little more than 15 minutes.

“Obviously, when [Davis] goes out, guys have to step up,” Anderson said. “We did that. I mean you go down the line, guys really just played their hearts out.”

Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 points to lead Mavericks, who have lost three of their past four games.

Charlie Villaneuva added 15 points, Zaza Pachulia 12, Justin Anderson 11 and Dwight Powell and J.J. Barea 10 apiece for Dallas, who trailed 58-40 after two quarters and by as many as 28 in the second half.

Nowitzki played a little more than five minutes in the second half, all coming early in the third quarter when he scored nine points, but Dallas was still unable to pose a threat.

“Overall, just not good enough tonight,” Nowitzki said. “We had some great looks. We finished the [first] half brutal. We had to put some stops together, and we did not do that.”

The Mavericks, who missed numerous uncontested shots throughout the game, were 5-of-20 in three-point attempts and shot 44 per cent from the field.

Testimony to their hustle and sense of urgency, Pelicans out-scored Dallas 23-9 in fast break points.

“We have to do a [heck] of a lot better,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “We missed some open shots. Their level of force was higher without question.”

Dallas got off to perhaps it worst start of the season and never recovered and even with Davis sidelined, Pelicans out-scored Dallas 36-35 in the third quarter to enter the final period with a 19-point lead.

“That is very important in every game, to get that fast start and create that tempo,” Gordon said. “We wanted to play fast.”

AMSTERDAM — Netherlands and Belgium have sought legal advice over whether to seek compensation for the cost of their abortive World Cup bid after discovering the choice of Russia for the 2018 finals was pre-planned.

The Dutch and Belgian football associations  announced on Tuesday they have contacted a legal firm after suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter said two weeks ago that football’s world governing body agreed Russia would be hosts long before the completion of the bidding process.

Blatter made the disclosure in an interview with Russian reporters, sparking uproar from the joint Belgian-Dutch bid, and from England which also bid for the right to host the finals.

“An interview is not enough to take steps but we are preparing ourselves for the outcome of a continuing investigation,” said a Dutch FA spokesman.

Francois de Keersmaecker, president of the Belgian FA, added: “In agreement with our Dutch colleagues we have asked a legal firm to see if we can claim for compensation.

“It was unethical to allow us to incur unnecessary costs while the outcome of the bidding process had already been determined.

“On the basis of the advice we get, we’ll decide what steps to take next.”

The joint bid, which cost the Dutch and Belgians 10 million euros ($10.70 million), went up against another joint bid from Portugal and Spain, as well as individual bids from England and Russia in the vote to decide the hosts of the 2018 World Cup.

England was eliminated after the first round of voting and the Dutch-Belgian bid finished third in the second round, where Russia received the necessary majority to be declared winners.

The English FA is also seeking legal advice and has sent FIFA questions about the 2018 bid process.

Blatter told Russia’s TASS news agency about the bidding process last month.

“It was agreed that we go to Russia [for 2018]... and for 2022 we go back to America. And so we will have the World Cup in the two biggest political powers,” he said.

The 2022 tournament was awarded to Qatar.

Blatter has been suspended from FIFA which has been rocked by a US Department of Justice investigation into bribery, money-laundering and wire fraud at the sport’s governing body.

Blatter is serving a 90-day suspension imposed by FIFA’s Ethics Committee, which is looking into a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.03 million) payment Blatter made to Michel Platini in 2011 — a case that is part of a separate Swiss criminal investigation.

AMMAN — Jordan beat Malta 2-0 in a friendly on Wednesday as part of their final training camp ahead of their match against Kyrgyzstan on November 17 in the return leg Group B qualifiers of the 2018 World Cup, doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup.

The Kingdom went up 17 spots to 82nd in the latest FIFA World Rankings this week — its biggest leap in a year.