Coach Jamal Ahmad is confident Jordan can pick up the point they need against Australia today to qualify for the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Championship from Group D.
Jordan, who finished third at the AFC U22 Championship at the start of 2014, shared a goalless draw with the United Arab Emirates on Sunday evening having started the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Vietnam.
And with Australia having lost earlier in the tournament to the Emiratis, the pressure is on Aurelio Vidmar’s Olyroos with Jordan currently a point clear at the top of the table alongside the UAE heading into the final round of fixtures.
“Australia is a very strong team, but we know that we are also a good team and so are the Emirates,” said Jordan coach Ahmad. “These three teams make this group one of the strongest in the tournament, but now it’s in our hands in order to win the next game and to qualify. “The pressure on the Jordan team is going to be less than the Australians because we have two chances, to draw and to win, while Australia only have one hope, to win the game. That’s a benefit for us and we will prepare the players to win the game so we don’t need the results from any other teams.”
Australia put their challenge back on track with a 2-0 win over Vietnam in the second round of group matches, but Vidmar’s side now must also win at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium having lost 1-0 to the UAE last week to concede the head-to-head advantage. “Jordan is an excellent side and we saw their game against Vietnam and they have also made improvements over the last few years and it will be a tough game,” said Vidmar.
“They have lots of technical players and also physical attributes. We started slowly in the game against the UAE, and had we shown the same intensity in the UAE game that we did against Vietnam, we would be sitting in a better position, so I see us improving in the next game again.”
The UAE, meanwhile, will take on a Vietnam side who can no longer qualify after losing both of their opening games. And coach Abdullah Misfir is expected to return to the bench after missing the win over Jordan due to illness as the UAE look to secure the win needed to finish at the top of the group.
“This group is still open for the three teams and I don’t think the next match is going to be easy just because Vietnam lost their first two games,” said UAE assistant coach Noureddine Abidi.
“They will want to leave the tournament in a good way because they have lost two games, so we will have to concentrate to do our best, to win the game in order to qualify for the next round.”
Vietnam coach Toshiya Miura, meanwhile, will look for his side build on a spirited display in Sunday’s defeat by Australia. “We had a lot of energy against Australia and I also want to try some fresh players,” said Miura.
“I saw the UAE game against Australia and they are physically strong like Australia, some of the players are skilful and very quick. They are very physical, very good athletes and talented players and I think it will be our most difficult game.”