In both nations' first game of the third round of Asian World Cup 2026 qualifying, Jordan will welcome Kuwait to Amman on Thursday.
The hosts booked their place in this round by topping group G in the second round, while their visitors scraped through in second spot in their group.
Match preview
© Imago
Jordan return to action on Thursday aiming to continue a fine run in 2024, having now won eight of their last 10 games and suffering just one defeat.
After enduring a slow start to the second round of Asian World Cup qualifying late last year, they headed into the AFC Asian Cup and advanced all the way to the final with knockout victories over Iraq, Tajikistan and South Korea, only to fall short at the last hurdle, losing 3-1 to Qatar in February.
Then returning to qualifying action in March and June with a single point on the board from two games, the Chivalrous Ones took top spot and punched their ticket to the next stage with four consecutive victories, dishing out 3-0 and 7-0 thrashings in a pair of contests with Pakistan before beating Tajikistan 3-0 ahead of a final-round trip to Saudi Arabia.
In Hussein Ammouta's last game at the helm, they would leapfrog the hosts with a 2-1 triumph in Riyadh, coming from behind thanks to goals from Ali Olwan and Noor Al-Rawabdeh, before most recently heading into a pair of friendlies with North Korea in late August under the new management of Jamal Sellami.
Now on the back of a goalless draw and a 2-1 victory to start life under their new boss, Jordan return to competitive action with plenty of momentum on their side and will bid to pick up where they left off on Thursday and continue their bid for a first ever World Cup appearance with a victory to start their third-round group campaign on Thursday.
© Imago
Their visitors will also bid to make a strong start to life in the third-round group on Thursday after progressing through the previous stage in less comfortable fashion.
Aiming to reach their first World Cup since 1982 after failing to book a third-round spot in their last campaign, Kuwait entered qualifying in the second round and again looked set to fall short, having earned a single victory alongside three defeats from their first four outings either side of the turn of the year.
Following the latter two of those, a pair of losses to Qatar in March, Al-Azraq returned for their final two fixtures in June and defied the odds to snatch second spot, firstly taking a point from a goalless draw away at India before finishing with a 1-0 home victory over Afghanistan thanks to Eid Al Rashedi's 81st-minute goal.
They also now return under new management, with Rui Bento's tenure having come to an end after that triumph, and Al-Azraq will bid to get off the mark with three points on Thursday in their first game under the stewardship of Juan Antonio Pizzi.
Team News
Jordan may line up with an unchanged starting XI from their decisive 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia in the final game of their second-round qualifying group in Jamal Sellami's first competitive game in charge.
Yazan Al-Naimat will continue to lead the line, having notched up 18 goals in 48 appearances for his nation, while Mousa Al-Tamari is another danger man with his tally of 23 international goals being the most in the squad.
Noor Al-Rawabdeh and Nizar Al-Rashdan should again partner up in the midfield, while Ihsan Haddad, Yazan Al-Arab and Salem Al-Ajalin offer plenty of experience at the back.
After he missed their final second-round outings, Yousef Nasser should return to the Kuwait starting XI for Thursday's contest and lead the attack, with the 33-year-old having netted 48 goals in his 107 international caps.
Faisal Zayid will play an important role in support in their 4-2-3-1 setup having contributed seven international goals of his own thus far, while Sultan Al-Enezi and Redha Hani may partner up in front of the back four.
Fahad Al Hajeri will again don the captain's armband and feature at the heart of a back four, having earned 82 caps for his nation, and with Meshari Ghanam not included in the upcoming squad, he may be rejoined by Khalid El Ebrahim.
Jordan possible starting lineup:
Abulaila; Haddad, Al-Arab, Nasib, Al-Ajalin, Al-Mardi; Al-Tamari, Al-Rawabdeh, Al-Rashdan, Olwan; Al-Naimat
Kuwait possible starting lineup:
Abdulghafour; Dashti, El Ebrahim, Al Hajeri, Al-Sanea; Al-Enezi, Hani; Al-Dhefiri, Zayid, Al-Rashidi; Nasser
We say: Jordan 3-1 Kuwait
Seemingly on an upwards trajectory thanks to their recent form in competitive action, and keen to begin life under new management on a positive note, we back Jordan to outclass Kuwait on home soil and begin with a victory in the third round of World Cup qualifying on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
Iran
Kyrgyzstan
North Korea
Qatar
UAE
Uzbekistan
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Oman
Palestine
South Korea
Australia
Bahrain
China
Indonesia
Japan
Saudi Arabia
