Jordan 26 World Cup Preview

Jordan have more than earned this; the 2026 World Cup marks the end of a decade-long rise of this program trusting a process & reaching tremendous heights the past 3 years. An Asian Cup final & a runout in a World Cup - incredible for a team I don't think I've ever thought about before 2023.

The structure of the team is a whole lot stabler than everybody is expecting; I know this because that was my own experience in scouting them. They're a team well aware of how they approach the game & their own strengths. It makes for a fascinating unit under the surface. 5-4-1 is the out & out formation, led by a great three-headed centerback unit who deny anything that even thinks about coming into their box. Flanking them are wingbacks who are mostly just bodies. They'll work & move well but don't add anything in possession; the right sided one will go higher. The 5-4-1, of course, looks like a 3-4-3 in possession:

Jordan have a pair of center midfielders who can run the game through them in Noor Al-Rawabdeh & Nizar Al Rashdan. Against strong opponents, however - likely every game at this World Cup - expect only one of them to start with a more defensive partner.

Up front, there's 4 players they can get an impact from in the front 3. Mousa Al-Taamari is a lock, left-footed star of their 2024 Asian Cup run who cuts in from the wide right. Next up for the World Cup is Mahmoud Al Mardi, attacking mid who manages to look like a magician in just a few touches. Al Mardi doesn't really bring much movement or good awareness of spacing, but particularly if Jordan are chasing a goal he's one they should be looking to.

Painfully, for Jordan, the other 2 are injured. One is already ruled out & the other is racing against the clock currently. Yazan Al-Naimat did his ACL in December to be ruled out, a shame. He's an electric player who looks in the mirror & sees Messi, which results in him trying some of the most insane individual efforts you'll ever see - a lot of them work out too! I am devastated that the world won't learn his name. Attempting to get fit is Ali Olwan, a workhorsemanlike forward who brings a decent degree of physicality, athleticism to run all over the place, & solid back-to-goal combination play. One of those strikers who is oddly at his worst on a runway 1v1 with a goalkeeper, but a good player nonetheless.

Jordan play extremely similarly to Panama, living in this 5-4-1 but ready to change their approach match-to-match depending on if they need to be a favorite on the front foot or sitting back to counterattack. Again, expect it to entirely be the latter given the level of this tournament.

There isn't a standout one but a few that add up on this list. Firstly, those 3 centerbacks are all consistent, but the wingbacks & midfielders directly next to them are not always in the best spacing to them. Their open play goals conceded were due to gaps opening up between lines.

Their goalkeeper is one of the more error prone ones at this tournament. Jordan don't bring consistent attacking set piece threats of their own. The front 3 are speedy but mostly quite small, they won't be winning aerials up there & have to rely on winning 2nd balls on the counterattack.

Lastly, despite his great Asian Cup, I remain colder on Al-Taamari than the average AFC sicko. I don't think he has the ability to go complete hero mode like a lot of other talismen here can.

Oh, those injuries I rattled off too. Also a big worry.

The defensive gaps progressively got sealed up over time - Jordan were notably better later on in qualifying as their midfield improved at dropping to close the gap between them & the backline. They went into Korea Republic & got a 1-1 draw from good defending!

Jordan were already a longshot to advance from the group with a clean bill of health - I'm holding hope that Olwan is the kind of striker who doesn't need to be in form to be effective, but the Al-Naimat one really stings.

Al-Taamari is undoubtedly the most talented & consistent one, but Jordan will need something special to get to the knockout round & something special is exactly what Al-Naimat provided time & time again over the past few years.

I don't think more than 1 point this summer is in the cards.