Pakistan dim chances to seal FIFA 2026 berth after facing defeat against Jordan

Pakistan failed to break losing streak in the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 as they faced another defeat against Jordan 3-0 at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad on Thursday.

Shaheens lost three games in a row during the second round of qualifiers.

Jordan’s star player Musa Al-Taamari scored a brace while Ali Olwan notched up a goal as well during the match against Pakistan.

It seemed that the flood gates would open after Musa and Ali gave Jordan a 2-0 lead inside the first 10 minutes but Pakistan’s defense remained resolute and ensured that it was not a complete hammering at the hands of the Asian Cup finalists.

In Group G of the Asian qualifiers, Jordan are in third place with four points. Meanwhile, winless Pakistan stay at the bottom after losing three out of three games.

Pakistan will now travel to Jordan for the away fixture on March 26 this month.

The Shaheens need to win their remaining three games, which includes matches against Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan, in order to remain in the hunt for the World Cup.

Squads

Jordan: Yazid Abu Laila, Ahmed Al-Jaidi, Abdullah Al-Fakhouri, Yazan Al-Arab, Baraa Marhi, Anas Bani Yassin, Saad Al-Rousan, Ihsan Haddad, Firas Shalbaya, Salem Al-Ajalin, Mahmoud Shawkat, Nizar Al-Rashdan, Ibrahim Saada, Nour Al-Rawabdeh, Rajai Ayed, Youssef Abu Jalbush, Saleh Ratib, Mahmoud Mardi, Muhammad Abu Rizk, Ali Alwan, Muhammad Abu Zureiq “Sharara”, Musa Al-Taamari, and Yazan Al-Naimat.

Pakistan: Goalkeepers: Yousuf Butt, Saqib Hanif, Abdul Basit and Hassan Ali; Defenders: Easah Suliman, Abdullah Iqbal, Mamoon Musa, Haseeb Khan, Mohammad Saddam, Mohammad Sohail, Omer Rao, Mohammad Fazal and Mohammad Adeel; Midfielders: Rahis Nabi, Harun Hamid, Alamgir Ghazi, Rajab Ali, Ali Uzair, Shayek Dost and Abdul Samad; Forwards: FareedUllah, Waleed Khan, Imran Kayani and Adeel Younis.