For the uninitiated, Jordan’s FIFA World Cup qualification may appear surprising, but they’ve been making waves in Asia for the past few years.
Jordan’s historic first qualification for the FIFA World Cup was not a surprise to Arab nations or fans, especially those in the Asian half of the region.
As runners-up at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, Jordan had already proven themselves capable of consistently challenging – and often outperforming – West Asian powerhouses. This achievement, despite appearances, wasn’t sudden, however; it was the product of collective effort and careful, long-term planning that began over two decades ago.
Jordan’s journey and rise on the Asian stage began in 2002 with the appointment of Egyptian coach Mahmoud El-Gohary, one of the most distinguished Arab managers of his generation.
El-Gohary had previously led Egypt to the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations. He laid the foundations of Jordan’s long-term football vision, which quickly bore fruit with the national team qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 2004 (then featuring 16 teams). Jordan went beyond mere participation, advancing to the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by eventual champions Japan on penalties.
Jordan again made it to the quarter-finals in their second Asian Cup appearance in 2011, this time losing out to Uzbekistan. But one of the most significant outcomes of that tournament was that it launched Jordanian players into the orbit of overseas clubs.
Jordanian players became increasingly sought-after in Arab leagues, especially in the Gulf, positively impacting the national team. Jordan soon established itself as a permanent contender at the Asian Cup, with progression from the group stage becoming almost a given, as seen in the 2015 and 2019 editions.
Jordan’s progress was then further highlighted in 2023 as they reached a new level altogether, getting to the Asian Cup final and only losing out to hosts Qatar, who scored all of their goals in the 3-1 win from the spot. Despite the defeat, two Jordan players were named in the Team of the Tournament.
As Jordan’s continental reputation continued to improve, they began to set their sights on loftier targets; the nation’s dream of reaching World Cup was starting to look more realistic.
They went agonisingly close during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, recording home victories in Amman over both Australia and Japan. Jordan’s third-place finish in the fourth round of qualifying saw them pitted against Uzbekistan in the Asian play-off. After a 2-2 aggregate draw, they emerged 9-8 winners on penalties and booked their passage to the intercontinental play-off.
One last hurdle remained in their way, but it was always going to be a tall order to get the better of Uruguay. A 5-0 home defeat in the first leg ended the tie as a contest, even though Jordan managed to hold La Celeste to a 0-0 draw in Montevideo to restore a bit of pride.
The 2023 Asian Cup adventure (and the widespread public celebrations along the way) marked something of a new era of hope, which was undoubtedly stoked by the World Cup’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams, theoretically making qualification more realistic.
Despite a modest start in the final qualification phase, collecting just four points from their first three matches, slip-ups by direct rivals South Korea and Iraq provided crucial momentum for Jordan. This renewed belief culminated on 5 June 2025, when Jordan secured historic qualification with a 3–0 victory over Oman in Muscat, with Iraq paying the price for successive defeats to Palestine and South Korea – albeit they did eventually secure their own progress to the finals.
Jordan required 11 attempts in Asian World Cup qualifiers to finally reach the global stage, having begun their journey in 1986 and achieving their objective some 40 years later.
In the latest qualifying campaign, Jordan scored 32 goals, surpassing their previous best of 30 in the 2014 qualifiers. They also matched their record for most wins in a single campaign (8) and clean sheets (6), both bests set in 2014.
The feel-good factor around Jordan didn’t stop there.
December 2025 saw the staging of the second FIFA Arab Cup, hosted in Qatar. Once again, Jordan did not disappoint either their fans or neutral observers, who tipped them as title contenders.
They were the only team to finish the group stage with a perfect record, before seeing off Iraq and Saudi Arabia in the knockouts. That earned them a place in the final alongside Morocco, and Jordan again gave a good account of themselves.
In fact, they were just a few minutes from winning the whole thing, only for Abderrazak Hamdallah to equalise for Morocco in the 88th minute and force extra-time; his second goal of the game in the additional 30 minutes earned the Atlas Lions the title.
Nevertheless, Jordan’s sustained success has – as it did in the early 2000s – increased international demand for their players. After being largely limited to leagues in Iraq, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the scope of overseas opportunities expanded to include Malaysia and South Korea. Notably, centre-back Yazan Al-Arab earned a move to South Korea’s FC Seoul, where he was named in the K League 1’s Best XI for 2025.
Yazan Al-Naimat and Ali Olwan have also caught the eye in the Qatar Stars League, though the undisputed star of the national team remains Mousa Al-Tamari, often dubbed the ‘Jordanian Mohamed Salah’.
Al-Tamari began his career locally with Shabab Al-Ordon before moving to Al-Jazeera. His first venture outside of Jordan saw him make the leap to APOEL in Cyprus, quickly establishing himself and winning the Cypriot First Division and Super Cup titles in the 2018–2019 season. In the process, he won the league’s MVP award and caught the attention of Belgium’s OH Leuven, owned by the same family as Leicester City.
As Al-Tamari’s performances in Belgium continued to enhance his burgeoning reputation, lucrative offers poured in from Gulf and American clubs. But he chose to remain in Europe, subsequently becoming the first Jordanian to compete in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
His 2023 move to Montpellier made additional history when he then became the first Jordanian to score in the top five European leagues. And despite strong interest from the Saudi Pro League, Al-Tamari’s European journey entered another stage when joining Rennes in France in February 2025.
It was a move Al-Tamari was reportedly uneasy about making considering Montpellier were already in a relegation battle. His former club ended up going down and his first few months at Roazhon Park were tricky, his impact minimal.
But 2025-26 was a much more positive experience for him on the whole. Used from either flank, his off-ball work rate and positive mentality in possession helped improve his standing under Habib Beye until the former defender was sacked in February.
Nevertheless, Al-Tamari remained an important figure under Franck Haise, finishing the season with 12 goal involvements in Ligue 1 (6 goals, 6 assists), a respectable figure bettered by only 18 players in the competition.
But most importantly, only Estéban Lepaul (25 – 20 goals, 5 assists) managed more for Rennes, while none of Al-Tamari’s teammates bettered his six assists. He also played an important role with respect to ball progression, carrying the ball upfield (4,521 metres) further than all but one of his colleagues.
If anyone is under pressure to deliver for Jordan, it’ll be Al-Tamari, especially given Al-Naimat’s absence with an ACL injury suffered in December.
Of course, few will be expecting Jordan to go especially deep, but with third place potentially a route into the knockouts and their Group J opponents not looking that intimidating (bar reigning champions Argentina), they aren’t without hope.
Either way, they made it this far. Jordan have already broken new ground; anything more from here will be a welcome bonus.
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