Nepal Vs Jordan : World Cup qualifiers

 

After their success against Timor Leste in first round of 2014 World Cup Asian Qualifiers with emphatic 7-1 aggregate victory, Nepal is all set to play against Jordan in the second round on July 23 and 28. Jordan, ranked 83^rd in the FIFA ranking currently, are two times (2004 and 2011) quarter finalists in AFC Asian Cup.

Comparing the historical background of both the teams, Jordan seems much stronger than Nepal. But Nepali Coach Graham Roberts, former English International, believes that Nepal can beat Jordan. When asked if Nepal can beat Jordan, Roberts said, "Why not! We can beat them. We are confident and will do everything possible in the second round qualifiers"

Jordan and Nepal are playing against each other for the first time. Jordan might be a tough call for Nepal but one thing common in both teams is they have lost only one match played in last seven matches.

Here's some comparisons of two teams :

FIFA ranking
Nepal 148 Vs Jordan 83

Highest Ranking
Nepal 124 (Dec 1993) Vs Jordan 37 (July 2004)

Lowest rankingNepal 188 (Feb 2008) Vs Jordan 152 (July 1998)
Football governing body
All Nepal Football Association (ANFA)
Jordan Football Association (JFA)

World Cup Appearances
Nepal: never qualifiedJordan: never qualified
Asia Cup Appearances
Nepal: never qualifiedJordan: Quarterfinalists in 2004 and 2011

Nepal: Last seven matchesW W D L W W WOpponents:East Timor (twice), Sri Lanka, Korea DPR, Afghanistan, Bhutan (twice)

Jordan Last seven matchesD D L W W D DOpponents:Korea DPR, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Uzbekistan

Coach
Nepal: Graham Roberts, Former England International
Jordan: Adnan Hamad, Former Iraq International

Biggest Win
Nepal Vs Bhutan 7-0 (1999)Jordan Vs Macau 13-0 (2006)

Biggest defeat
Nepal Vs South Korea 0-16 (2003)Jordan Vs China 0-6 (1984)

National Stadium
Dasharath Rangashala, Capacity : 25,000Amman International Stadium , Capacity : 25,000

Kit Provider
Nepal: Adidas
Jordan: Adidas

Jersey:
Home
Nepal: Red
Jordan: White
Away
Nepal: BlueJordan: Red

Amman International Stadium which hosted 2007 Asian Championships in Athletics will be hosting Nepal's away match against Jordan on July 23. Built in 1980 and renovated in 2009, this stadium has capacity of 25,000 spectators. In July, the temperature of Amman, Jordan, where Amman International Stadium is located, might exceed 35˚C. But according to Yahoo weather, on the day of the match, the temperature is expected to be 32˚C. There is 0% chance of rainfall during the day, but the humidity is expected to be high.
Meanwhile, Venue for Nepal's home match against Jordan is still undecided even though schedules in the official website of Asian Football Confederation shows that match would be held in the Dasharath Stadium, Kathmandu.

“We are still undecided about hosting the home match against Jordan in Kathmandu since we are facing the problem of ground maintenance,” said All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) CEO Indra Man Tuladhar.

Earlier, ANFA had requested to play both home and away matches in Jordan. However, following the success in the matches against Timor Leste in the first round of the qualifiers as well as pressures from fans and the team, ANFA wrote to AFC to host the home match in Kathmandu.

Meanwhile, Graham Roberts has said that he will make sure home match against Jordan will be played in Kathmandu. Speaking after post match conference after defeating Timor Leste 5-0 in the second leg of first round matches of 2014 World Cup Asian Qualifiers, he said, "I will do everything possible to make sure we are playing our home match at home. You should not hurt thousands of Nepalese football fans."