Jordan played a friendly match with “virtual South Korea” North Korea to draw 0-0. It was the first warm-up match in five years by North Korea.
Jordan and North Korea, which played a warm-up match at Petra Field in Amman, Jordan, on the 28th (Korea time), finished without a goal. The Jordan Football Association released the results of the match and photos during the match. It seems that it was a closed friendly match held without spectators.
Jordan invited North Korea before the World Cup qualifying round. Following the match on Friday, the team will play one more match on Thursday.
It seems that Jordan and South Korea belong to Group B, which is the most threatening team in the World Cup qualifying round, if they choose North Korea to hold two consecutive games. Jordan and South Korea are expected to win the third qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup. Other Middle Eastern countries including Kuwait, Palestine, Oman, and Iraq are expected to win, but only South Korea is the strongest team and the East Asian team. North Korea seems to have been invited as a “virtual Korea.” The top two teams will advance to the finals for the third qualifying round, while the third and fourth teams in the group will advance to the fourth qualifying round. Jordan’s realistic goal is to rank second in the group after South Korea. However, considering that the team had rather an advantage over South Korea at the last Asian Cup in Qatar, it can earn points against South Korea in this qualifying round, and based on that, it can seek to advance to the finals directly.
As it was not held on the A-match day, Jordan had to focus on the domestic leagues. The members were not included in the list of star striker Moussa Altamari from Montpellier in France and Yazan Al-Araab, the main center back who plays for FC Seoul in Korea.
When Jordanian coach Jamal Selami hosted the two consecutive World Cup games, he urged local media to do his best, saying, “This is an important step to advance to the World Cup finals. Players must prove their eligibility to be selected.”
It is the first time in five years that the North has played in an exhibition match for the North’s national team. Unlike June 2019, when the North actively participated in A-match games, the North has refused to participate in international competitions until 2021. In the second qualifying round for the World Cup, which began last year, the North was sent to the third qualifying round after twists and turns, including forfeiture due to its refusal to play at home against Japan. The North is currently tying with Uzbekistan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and Iran in Group A of the third qualifying round. Given its strength, chances are low that the North will advance to the finals. The match against Jordan would have been a good opportunity to improve its adaptability to soccer in the Middle East, which it has never experienced in a while. 메이저놀이터
After the friendly matches, Jordan will face Kuwait on September 6 and Palestine on September 10. North Korea will face Uzbekistan on September 5 and Qatar on September 10.