India set to face Jordan for the first time ever in FIFA Friendly

by Chittu Shetty October 24, 2018

All India Football Federation confirms an International Friendly for the Indian Senior National Team against Jordan to be played in Amman on November 17, 2018 in the scheduled FIFA November 2018 International Friendly window.

Jordan who went down 1-2 to World Cup runners-up Croatia in their last Friendly in October 2018 are currently ranked 110 in the September FIFA window in comparison to India who are at 97. The two teams have never met in an International Friendly ever, though the India U-16 National Team did play Jordan twice earlier this year where the Indian colts coached by Bibiano Fernandes won both their encounters.

The November Friendly which comes after India’s goalless draw against PR China in the last International Friendly in October, will further set the pace for the National Team’s preparation for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 which kicks-off in UAE on January 5, 2019.

Mr. Kushal Das, General Secretary, All India Football Federation referred this forthcoming match as “significant” one. “The AFC Asian Cup is knocking at the door and as part of our preparation it’s pertinent that the National Team prepares in the best possible fashion by playing against stronger Teams. Jordan are a very tough side who went down to World Cup runners-up Croatia 1-2 in their last match. It will be an acid test for us,” Mr. Das stated.

National Coach Stephen Constantine maintained the match will be a “big test” for the team. “This is going to be a really good game for several reasons. Firstly, Jordan is a quality team as we saw them in their 1-2 loss to Croatia the other day. We have to understand the level we are going to face in UAE and to be able to deal with it, we have to face tests like this. The game against China was a big test, and Jordan will be another one as well,” Constantine said.

India who have been clubbed in Group A with UAE, Thailand and Bahrain in the Group A in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 play Thailand in their first match on January 6, 2019. The Coach mentioned that the climatic conditions in Amman are very much similar to UAE which will eventually help the team get acclimatised for the Continental championship in January 2019.

“After we secured our qualification we knew we needed to play against those opponents who will put us under pressure from the start. Moreover, we’ll play in Amman where the environment is very much similar to Abu Dhabi and Sharjah where we will play in January.”

The match will be played at the King Abdullah II International Stadium and will kick-off at IST 9.30pm.

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