Pakistan hope to improve against Jordan in away game

LAHORE: Last week in their home match against Jordan, after conceding early goals, not only did Pakistan create some chances but also prevented the visitors from scoring more goals.

The eventual score-line of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers second round Group G game at the Jinnah Stadium, Islamabad, was 3-0 in favour of the last Asian Cup runners-up. On Tuesday (today), Pakistan will meet Jordan again -- this time at the latter’s backyard at the Amman International Stadium.

The show will begin at midnight. Pakistan reached Amman late Sunday. And on Monday Stephen Constantine’s charges trained well. It will be seen how Pakistan restrict Jordan. The hosts will be looking to land more goals if they are to qualify for the third round as two teams from the Group will advance to the third round. The remaining two sides will feature in the Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers.

Tajikistan will host Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (today) in the same group at the Central Republic Stadium Dushanbe. The Central Asian side are second in standings with four points, ahead of Jordan on goal difference following their 1-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their away show.

Jordan can finish second in the group if Tajikistan face defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia. In front of the home crowd, Jordan can be very lethal for Pakistan who have lost all their three matches in the group so far.

“We still have another match against the same opponent and we will be ready to show a better performance when we play in Amman,” Jordan coach Hussein Ammouta said in Islamabad in the post-match press conference last week.

Pakistan will be missing Danish defenders Mohammad Fazal and Abdullah Iqbal. Fazal is suffering from a hamstring injury and Iqbal is facing suspension. He was shown his second yellow card against Jordan in Islamabad. He had received his first yellow card on October 17 against Cambodia in Islamabad in the first round.

Pakistan’s English coach Stephen Constantine was happy when his charges restricted Jordan to just three goals in Islamabad. “We are improving. It’s not easy to build a national team in three to four months, especially when we don’t have a league but today the boys gave absolutely everything,” Stephen said in the post-match press conference.

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

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.