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Jordan national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Jordan women's national football team.
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Jordan
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) النشامى (The Chivalrous Ones)
Association Jordan Football Association
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation WAFF (West Asia)
Head coach Jamal Sellami
Captain Ihsan Haddad
Most caps Amer Shafi (171)
Top scorer Hamza Al-Dardour (33)
Home stadium Amman International Stadium
King Abdullah II Stadium
FIFA code JOR
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 97 Increase 12 (7 February 2019)
Highest 37 (August – September 2004)
Lowest 152 (July 1996)
Elo ranking
Current 81 Increase 9 (3 March 2019)
Highest 37 (23 July 2004)
Lowest 143 (September 1984, July 1985)
First international
 Syria 3–1 Jordan 
(Alexandria, Egypt; 1 August 1953)
Biggest win
 Jordan 9–0 Nepal   
(Amman, Jordan; 23 July 2011)
Biggest defeat
 Lebanon 6–0 Jordan 
(Beirut, Lebanon; 22 October 1957)
 Algeria 6–0 Jordan 
(Damascus, Syria; 29 September 1974)
 Iraq 7–1 Jordan 
(Baghdad, Iraq; 21 February 1982)
 China 6–0 Jordan 
(Guangzhou, China; 15 September 1984)
 Japan 6–0 Jordan 
(Saitama, Japan; 8 June 2012)
 Norway 6–0 Jordan 
(Oslo, Norway; 7 September 2023)
Asian Cup
Appearances 6 (first in 2004)
Best result Runners-up (2023)
Arab Cup
Appearances 9 (first in 1963)
Best result Semi-finals (2002)
WAFF Championship
Appearances 9 (first in 2000)
Best result Runners-up (2002, 2008, 2014)
Medal record
AFC Asian Cup
Silver Qatar 2023
Arab Games
Gold Beirut 1997
Gold Amman 1999
Silver Doha 2011
WAFF Championship
Silver Syria 2002
Silver Iran 2008
Silver Qatar 2014

The Jordan national football team (which means "The Chivalrous Ones" in Arabic) represents Jordan in international football games. The Jordan Football Association manages the team.

Jordan has played in the Asian Cup five times. In 2023, they reached the final of a major tournament for the first time, finishing as runners-up.

The team has won the Arab Games twice, in 1997 and 1999. They have also reached the WAFF Championship final three times, but they haven't won it yet. Jordan has hosted the WAFF Championship three times, the Arab Cup once, and the Arab Games once.

History of Jordan Football

Early Days (1953–1996)

Jordan's national football team played its first international match in 1953 in Egypt. They lost 3–1 to Syria. Jordan first tried to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 1986, but they haven't made it to the World Cup finals yet.

Growing Stronger (1997–2007)

Jordanian coach Mohammad Awad helped the team achieve great things between 1992 and 1999. He led Jordan to win the Arab Games twice, first in Beirut in 1997 and then in Amman in 1999.

The team continued to improve under Serbian coach Branko Smiljanić. He helped Jordan get better results in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He also led Jordan to the semi-finals of the 2002 Arab Cup. After he left, Egyptian coach Mahmoud El-Gohary took over.

Under El-Gohary, Jordan qualified for their first AFC Asian Cup in 2004. They reached the quarter-finals but lost to Japan in a penalty shootout. Thanks to El-Gohary, Jordan reached its highest ever FIFA World Ranking, ranking 37th in 2004.

A Golden Era (2008–2015)

After some changes in coaches, Iraqi coach Adnan Hamad took charge in 2009. He had already found success with a Jordanian club team. Hamad helped Jordan qualify for their second Asian Cup in 2011. They reached the quarter-finals again but lost to Uzbekistan.

Hamad also led Jordan to finish third in their group during the final round of Asian qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They then played a special playoff against Uzbekistan and won on penalties, moving closer to the World Cup. However, they lost to Uruguay in the final playoff round, missing their chance to play in the World Cup.

Jordan national football team in Tehran - 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
Jordan during the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification against Syria in Tehran.

In 2014, Ray Wilkins became the new coach. He led Jordan in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, where they were knocked out in the group stage.

Recent Years (2016–Present)

Jordan's performance stayed about the same for a few years. They didn't make it to the final round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. However, they did qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. In that tournament, they surprised many by beating Australia and Syria, becoming the first team to reach the Round of 16. But they lost to Vietnam in a penalty shootout.

AUS-JOR 20190106 Asian Cup 3
Jordan players celebrating their win against Australia at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

In June 2023, Hussein Ammouta became the new coach. In early 2024, he led the team to their first ever Asian Cup final! They had an amazing run, beating Iraq, Tajikistan, and South Korea. In the final, Jordan lost 3–1 to the host nation Qatar.

After this historic achievement, Jordan's FIFA Ranking went up to 70th, which is their highest rank since 2014.

Team Look

Kit Sponsors

The Jordan team has had different companies make their uniforms over the years:

Kit supplier Period
Germany Puma 1997–1999
Germany Adidas 1999–2005
Germany Jako 2005–2009
Germany Uhlsport 2009–2010
Germany Adidas 2010–2012
Germany Jako 2012–2015
Germany Adidas 2015–2018
Spain Joma 2018–2021
England Umbro 2021–2022
Germany Jako 2022–2024
Spain Kelme 2024–present

Home Stadiums

The Jordan national football team plays its home games at two main stadiums: the Amman International Stadium and the King Abdullah II Stadium.

The Amman International Stadium was built in 1964. It's the biggest stadium in Jordan and can hold 17,619 fans. It's also home to the Al-Faisaly club.

The King Abdullah II Stadium was opened in 1998. It can hold 13,000 fans and is also home to the Al-Wehdat club.

These stadiums host many important football games in Jordan, including league matches and cup finals. They have also hosted international tournaments like the Arab Cup and the WAFF Championship.

Current Team Staff

Position Name Ref.
Head coach Morocco Jamal Sellami
Assistant coach Morocco Mustapha Khalfi
Morocco Omar Najhi
Goalkeeping coach Jordan Ibrahim Ayed
Physiotherapist Jordan Amer Al-Tamari
Doctor Jordan Youssef Al-Aramsheh
Team manager Jordan Mohammed Mango

Coaching History

  • Jordan Shehadeh Mousa (1963–1964)
  • Hungary Miklós Vadas (1966–1967)
  • England George Skinner (1968–1969)
  • Jordan Shehadeh Mousa (1971–1972)
  • Jordan Mohammad Awad (1972–1975, 1985–1986, 1997–1998, 1998–2000)
  • West Germany Josef Steiger (1975–1976)
  • Scotland Danny McLennan (1978–1980)
  • Jordan Mudhar Al-Saeed (1981)
  • England Tony Banfield (1983, 1989)
  • Brazil Edson Tavares (1986–1987)
  • Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Ogsananovic (1988–1989)
  • Jordan Ezzat Hamza (1992, 1995)
  • Russia Aleksandr Maksimenkov (1992–1993)
  • Serbia and Montenegro Vukašin Višnjevac (1998)
  • Argentina Ricardo Carugati (2000–2001)
  • Serbia and Montenegro Branko Smiljanić (2001–2002)
  • Egypt Mahmoud El-Gohary (2002–2007)
  • Portugal Nelo Vingada (2007–2009)
  • Iraq Adnan Hamad (2009–2013)
  • Egypt Hossam Hassan (2013–2014)
  • Jordan Ahmed Abdel-Qader (2014, 2015)
  • England Ray Wilkins (2014–2015)
  • Belgium Paul Put (June 2015–January 2016)
  • Jordan Abdullah Abu Zema (January 2016–March 2016, March 2016–December 2016)
  • England Harry Redknapp (March 2016)
  • United Arab Emirates Abdullah Mesfer (December 2016–October 2017)
  • Jordan Jamal Abu-Abed (October 2017–September 2018)
  • Belgium Vital Borkelmans (September 2018–June 2021)
  • Iraq Adnan Hamad (June 2021–June 2023)
  • Morocco Hussein Ammouta (June 2023–June 2024)
  • Morocco Jamal Sellami (June 2024–)

Players

Current Squad

Here are the 26 players who were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches in November 2024.

Caps (games played) and goals are correct as of October 15, 2024.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Yazeed Abulaila (1993-01-08) 8 January 1993 (age 32) 47 0 Jordan Al-Hussein
12 1GK Nour Bani Attiah (1993-01-25) 25 January 1993 (age 32) 0 0 Jordan Al-Faisaly
22 1GK Abdallah Al-Fakhouri (2000-01-22) 22 January 2000 (age 25) 8 0 Jordan Al-Wehdat
2 2DF Mohammad Abu ... (1995-05-09) 9 May 1995 (age 30) 35 0 Iraq Zakho
3 2DF Abdallah Nasib (1994-02-25) 25 February 1994 (age 31) 39 2 Jordan Al-Hussein
4 2DF Husam Abu Dahab (2000-05-13) 13 May 2000 (age 25) 3 0 Jordan Al-Faisaly
5 2DF Yazan Al-Arab (1996-01-31) 31 January 1996 (age 29) 60 2 South Korea FC Seoul
16 2DF Mohammad Abualnadi (2001-02-08) 8 February 2001 (age 24) 2 0 Malaysia Selangor
19 2DF Saed Al-Rosan (1997-02-01) 1 February 1997 (age 28) 6 1 Jordan Al-Hussein
23 2DF Ihsan Haddad (1994-02-05) 5 February 1994 (age 31) 76 2 Jordan Al-Hussein
2DF Yousef Abu Al-Jazar (1999-10-25) 25 October 1999 (age 25) 5 0 Jordan Al-Wehdat
2DF Hijazi Maher (1997-09-20) 20 September 1997 (age 27) 0 0 India East Bengal
2DF Ali Hajabi (2004-05-02) 2 May 2004 (age 21) 0 0 Jordan Al-Hussein
13 3MF Mahmoud Al-Mardi (1993-10-06) 6 October 1993 (age 31) 60 7 Jordan Al-Hussein
14 3MF Rajaei Ayed (1993-07-25) 25 July 1993 (age 31) 52 0 Jordan Al-Hussein
15 3MF Ibrahim Sadeh (2000-04-27) 27 April 2000 (age 25) 31 2 Bahrain Al-Muharraq
20 3MF Mohannad Abu Taha (2003-02-02) 2 February 2003 (age 22) 6 0 Iraq Al-Karkh
21 3MF Nizar Al-Rashdan (1999-03-23) 23 March 1999 (age 26) 24 2 Bahrain Al-Khaldiya
3MF Mohammad Abu Zrayq (1997-12-30) 30 December 1997 (age 27) 21 3 Iraq Al-Shorta
3MF Amer Jamous (2002-07-03) 3 July 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Jordan Al-Wehdat
3MF Mohannad Semreen (2002-01-08) 8 January 2002 (age 23) 0 0 Jordan Al-Wehdat
9 4FW Ali Olwan (2000-03-26) 26 March 2000 (age 25) 44 15 Malaysia Selangor
10 4FW Mousa Al-Tamari (1997-06-10) 10 June 1997 (age 28) 69 22 France Montpellier
11 4FW Yazan Al-Naimat (1999-06-04) 4 June 1999 (age 26) 46 21 Qatar Al-Arabi
4FW Ibrahim Sabra (2006-02-01) 1 February 2006 (age 19) 1 0 Jordan Al-Wehdat
4FW Reziq Bani Hani (2002-01-28) 28 January 2002 (age 23) 1 0 Jordan Al-Hussein

Player Records

These statistics include only official matches recognized by FIFA. Players whose names are in bold are still playing for the national team.

Most Games Played

Rank Name Caps Goals Position Career
1 Amer Shafi 171 1 GK 2002–2021
2 Baha' Abdel-Rahman 152 6 MF 2007–2022
3 Hatem Aqel 137 10 DF 1998–2014
4 Amer Deeb 130 21 MF 2002–2014
5 Odai Al-Saify 118 15 MF 2007–2023
6 Hamza Al-Dardour 116 33 FW 2011–present
7 Abdallah Deeb 115 19 FW 2007–2016
8 Anas Bani Yaseen 114 6 DF 2008–present
9 Hassan Abdel-Fattah 109 29 FW 2002–2015
10 Hassouneh Al-Sheikh 101 9 MF 1997–2010

Top Goal Scorers

Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Hamza Al-Dardour 33 116 0.28 2011–present
2 Hassan Abdel-Fattah 29 109 0.27 2002–2015
3 Badran Al-Shaqran 28 81 0.35 1996–2006
4 Yazan Al-Naimat 22 54 0.41 2021–present
Musa Al-Taamari 22 75 0.29 2016–present
6 Mahmoud Shelbaieh 21 79 0.27 2000–2011
Amer Deeb 21 130 0.16 2002–2014
8 Abdallah Deeb 19 115 0.17 2007–2016
9 Ali Olwan 18 52 0.35 2020–present
10 Baha Faisal 17 57 0.3 2016–present
Mo'ayyad Salim 17 64 0.27 1999–2006
Ahmad Hayel 17 70 0.24 2005–2015

Tournament Records

FIFA World Cup

Jordan has tried to qualify for the FIFA World Cup many times but has not yet made it to the final tournament.

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1954 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
1958 to 1982 Did not enter Did not enter
Mexico 1986 Did not qualify 4 1 0 3 3 7
Italy 1990 6 2 1 3 5 7
United States 1994 8 2 3 3 12 15
France 1998 4 1 1 2 4 4
South Korea Japan 2002 6 2 2 2 12 7
Germany 2006 6 4 0 2 10 6
South Africa 2010 8 3 1 4 8 8
Brazil 2014 20 8 5 7 30 31
Russia 2018 8 5 1 2 21 7
Qatar 2022 8 4 2 2 13 3
Canada Mexico United States 2026 Qualification in progress 9 5 2 2 20 8
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 TBD
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total 0/17 87 37 18 32 138 103

AFC Asian Cup

Jordan has played in the AFC Asian Cup several times, reaching the quarter-finals twice and the final once.

AFC Asian Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Hong Kong 1956 Not an AFC member Not an AFC member
South Korea 1960
Israel 1964
Iran 1968
Thailand 1972 Did not qualify 6 2 1 3 5 9
Iran 1976 Did not enter Did not enter
Kuwait 1980
Singapore 1984 Did not qualify 4 1 1 2 7 10
Qatar 1988 4 1 3 0 2 1
Japan 1992 Did not enter Did not enter
United Arab Emirates 1996 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 4 1
Lebanon 2000 4 2 1 1 12 4
China 2004 Quarter-finals 7th 4 1 3 0 3 1 6 5 0 1 13 6
Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Vietnam 2007 Did not qualify 6 3 1 2 10 5
Qatar 2011 Quarter-finals 6th 4 2 1 1 5 4 6 2 2 2 4 4
Australia 2015 Group stage 9th 3 1 0 2 5 4 6 3 3 0 10 3
United Arab Emirates 2019 Round of 16 4 2 2 0 4 1 14 8 4 2 37 12
Qatar 2023 Runners-up 2nd 7 4 1 2 13 8 11 7 2 2 19 3
Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualified 6 4 1 1 16 4
Total Runners-up 6/19 22 10 7 5 30 18 75 39 19 17 139 62
*Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty kicks.

Head-to-Head Record

AUS-JOR 20190106 Asian Cup 2
Australia & Jordan Group B match, 2019 AFC Asian Cup

This table shows Jordan's record against other national teams in all international matches.

      Positive Record       Neutral Record       Negative Record

Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
 Afghanistan 3 2 1 0 13 5 +8
 Albania 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Algeria 2 1 1 0 3 2 1
 Armenia 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Australia 8 3 0 5 7 14 −7
 Azerbaijan 2 0 1 2 2 5 −3
 Bahrain 32 13 7 12 34 31 +3
 Bangladesh 2 2 0 0 12 0 +12
 Belarus 2 1 0 1 1 1 0
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1
 Bulgaria 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 Cambodia 2 2 0 0 8 0 +8
 Chad 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 China 11 2 4 5 14 18 −4
 Colombia 1 0 0 1 0 3 −3
 Congo 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 Croatia 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1
 Cyprus 5 2 2 1 6 3 +3
 Denmark 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1
 Ecuador 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3
 Egypt 5 1 1 3 3 11 −8
 Estonia 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
 Finland 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1
 Georgia 2 1 0 1 3 3 0
 Haiti 1 0 0 1 0 2 –2
 Hong Kong 4 2 2 0 7 1 +6
 Hungary 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 India 2 2 0 0 4 1 +3
 Indonesia 6 6 0 0 17 3 +14
 Iran 14 4 3 7 11 18 −7
 Iraq 53 11 15 27 52 75 −23
 Ivory Coast 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 Jamaica 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
 Japan 7 2 3 2 7 12 −5
 Kazakhstan 2 1 0 1 2 1 +1
 Kenya 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Kosovo 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 Kuwait 30 7 13 10 33 40 −7
 Kyrgyzstan 5 2 1 2 4 3 +1
 Laos 2 2 0 0 8 2 +6
 Lebanon 32 10 13 9 31 33 −2
 Libya 10 3 4 3 10 12 −2
 Lithuania 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3
 Malaysia 6 4 2 0 10 0 +10
 Malta 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1
 Mauritania 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
 Mexico 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Moldova 2 1 0 1 1 2 −1
 Morocco 5 0 1 4 3 12 −9
   Nepal 5 4 1 0 18 1 +17
 New Zealand 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1
 Nigeria 2 1 0 1 1 2 −1
 North Korea 7 3 1 3 8 6 +2
 Norway 2 0 1 1 0 6 –6
 Oman 27 15 8 4 42 15 +27
 Pakistan 9 9 0 0 34 1 +33
 [[Palestinian National Authority {{{altlink}}}|Palestinian National Authority]] 16 9 6 1 41 13 +28
 Paraguay 1 0 0 1 2 4 −2
 Philippines 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4
 Qatar 24 7 4 13 23 36 −10
 Romania 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 Saudi Arabia 18 7 2 9 16 22 –6
 Serbia 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1
 Sierra Leone 2 1 0 1 5 2 +3
 Singapore 9 7 1 1 20 6 +14
 Slovakia 1 0 0 1 1 5 −4
 South Korea 8 1 3 4 6 9 −3
 South Sudan 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4
 South Yemen 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1
 Spain 1 0 0 1 1 3 –2
 Sri Lanka 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
 Sudan 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4
 Sweden 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Syria 43 15 14 14 44 47 −13
 Chinese Taipei 4 4 0 0 15 1 +14
 Tajikistan 7 5 1 1 13 3 +10
 Thailand 7 1 5 1 3 4 −1
 Trinidad and Tobago 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3
 Tunisia 3 0 1 2 3 12 −9
 Turkmenistan 4 2 0 2 5 4 +1
 Ukraine 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 United Arab Emirates 18 3 4 11 16 30 –14
 Uruguay 2 0 1 1 0 5 −5
 Uzbekistan 14 2 5 7 15 21 −6
 Vietnam 4 0 4 0 3 3 0
 Yemen 3 1 2 0 6 2 +4
 Zambia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 Zimbabwe 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
Total 539 206 146 188 706 617 +89

Team Achievements

Jordan has won several medals in different football competitions:

Continental Honors

Regional Honors

  • WAFF Championship
    • Runners-up (Silver Medal): 2002, 2008, 2014
    • Third place (Bronze Medal): 2004, 2007
  • Arab Games
    • Champions (Gold Medal): 1997, 1999
    • Silver medal: 2011

Summary of Medals

Competition 1 2 3 Total
AFC Asian Cup 0 1 0 1
WAFF Championship 0 3 2 5
Arab Games 2 1 0 3
Total 2 5 2 9

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Jordania para niños

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