Jordan: World Cup 2026 Squad, Fixtures, Standings & Kits
Jordan — FIFA World Cup 2026
Group J · Manager: Jamal Sellami · History Made. Dreams Begin.
Jordan are competing at the FIFA World Cup for the very first time in their history. Al-Nashama — the Valiant Ones — qualified for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by finishing second in the AFC Third Round Group B, behind South Korea, in one of the most significant sporting achievements the country has ever produced. Coach Jamal Sellami, a Moroccan tactician inspired by his homeland’s 2022 semi-final run, has built a compact, disciplined, and fast-transitioning side capable of causing a genuine upset against any team in Group J.
Drawn into Group J alongside Argentina, Algeria, and Austria, Jordan face the most daunting group draw of any first-time World Cup nation in 2026. Argentina arrive as defending World Cup champions, led by Lionel Messi. Algeria are African champions with a squad built around Riyad Mahrez and Mohamed Amoura. Austria are a well-organised European side. Jordan’s target is to take points from Austria and Algeria, protect the goal difference against Argentina, and announce themselves to the world as a nation that takes its football seriously. Mousa Al-Tamari — the Stade Rennais winger with 21 goals in 70 international appearances — is the player every opponent will plan their defence around.
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What should fans know about Jordan at World Cup 2026?
Jordan are competing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. They are placed in Group C and are managed by Jamal Sellami. The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
Jordan World Cup 2026 Squad — Al-Nashama’s Historic 26
Jamal Sellami announced Jordan’s official 26-man World Cup squad on June 2, 2026. The group is largely domestically based — Al-Hussein, Al-Wehdat, Al-Karma, and Al-Ramtha are the primary Jordanian clubs represented — with the notable European exceptions of Mousa Al-Tamari at Stade Rennais in Ligue 1 and Ibrahim Sabra at Lokomotiva Zagreb in the Croatian top flight. Yazan Al-Arab of Seoul FC in the Korean K League adds a further Asian continental layer. The squad reflects the reality of Jordanian football in 2026: a domestically anchored core built on collective discipline, with two European-based talents providing the attacking quality to compete at the highest level.
Goalkeepers
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
Jordan’s Key Players at the 2026 World Cup
Six players define Jordan’s approach and ambition in Group J. Al-Tamari is the singular match-winning talent — the player whose European club experience and attacking instincts give every opponent genuine cause for concern. Haddad provides the captain’s authority and defensive foundation. Al-Arab brings Asian continental club experience. Abulaila the composure behind the defensive block. Al-Rashdan the midfield control. And Sabra the second European-quality attacking option that prevents opponents from doubling up entirely on Al-Tamari.
The most accomplished player in Jordanian football history and the face of this World Cup debut. Al-Tamari became the first Jordanian ever to play and score in a top-five European league when he joined Montpellier in Ligue 1 in 2023, before signing for Stade Rennais on a contract until 2028 for a reported fee of €8-9 million. He has scored 21 goals in 70 international appearances and recorded seven goals and 11 assists for Rennais this season. His pace, direct running, and ability to create something from nothing make him Jordan’s primary attacking weapon in every match.
The 32-year-old Al-Hussein centre-back who captains Jordan at their historic first World Cup. Haddad is the defensive and emotional anchor of Sellami’s side — experienced across multiple AFC campaigns, commanding in the air, and a natural communicator who organises the compact defensive block that Jordan rely on in every match. His leadership across the qualifying campaign — unbeaten through 10 matches — was the single most important structural contribution to Jordan reaching North America.
The most internationally experienced defender in the squad, having made the rare move from Jordanian domestic football to Seoul FC in the Korean K League 1 — one of the strongest leagues in Asia. Al-Arab brings the tactical understanding of a player who has competed week-in, week-out against Asian continental standard opposition, and his defensive awareness and recovery speed give Jordan’s back line a quality that purely domestically-based defenders cannot always provide.
Jordan’s undisputed first-choice goalkeeper and the last line of a defensive structure that conceded just 10 goals in 10 AFC qualifying matches. Abulaila is commanding in his area, quick off his line when the high ball comes in, and composed enough in distribution to begin the rapid transition patterns that Sellami’s system depends on. He will face some of the most technically demanding strikers at the entire 2026 tournament — and his composure and positioning will define how competitive Jordan are in every group stage match.
The central midfielder who controls the tempo and direction of Jordan’s play from the engine room of Sellami’s 4-2-3-1. Al-Rashdan at Qatar SC has accumulated significant experience playing in a competitive Gulf league against strong technical opposition, and brings the ball-winning efficiency and distribution quality that allows Al-Tamari to receive in advanced positions. He is Jordan’s most technically complete midfielder and the player who makes the system function at its most effective.
The first Jordanian player ever to compete in the Croatian top flight, Sabra provides a second European-based attacking option alongside Al-Tamari. His directness, press resistance, and ability to hold the ball under pressure give Sellami an alternative forward profile to the wide-running Tamari — a striker who can play with his back to goal, bring others into play, and contribute goals from central positions. His move to Lokomotiva Zagreb represents the growing ambition of Jordanian players to test themselves at the highest accessible level of European football.
Jamal Sellami Tactics — Morocco 2022 as the Blueprint
Jamal Sellami has been explicit about his tactical inspiration: Morocco’s 2022 World Cup semi-final run — built on a deep defensive block, high collective pressing triggers, and clinical exploitation of transitions — is the template he has adapted for Jordan. His system is a 4-2-3-1 with a low-to-medium defensive line that absorbs pressure from possession-heavy opponents and then releases Al-Tamari and the wide players at pace the moment the ball is won. The double pivot of Al-Rashdan and Jamous provides the defensive cover that allows Sellami’s attacking players to commit forward without leaving the back four exposed.
Against Argentina on June 27 in Arlington, Jordan will almost certainly defend deep and compact in a 4-5-1, absorbing pressure and looking for moments to release Al-Tamari one-on-one behind the Argentine defensive line. Against Algeria on June 22 in Santa Clara — a match Sellami has identified as Jordan’s clearest opportunity for a competitive result — Jordan may adopt a more aggressive pressing shape in the final third, using Al-Tamari’s pace and energy to press Algeria’s back four and force the kind of turnovers in dangerous areas that Jordan exploited so effectively throughout the AFC qualifying campaign.
| Formation | Style | Key Shape | Primary Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4-2-3-1 | Defensive block, rapid counter | Al-Rashdan/Jamous pivot; Tamari as primary outlet | Transition speed |
| 4-5-1 | Deep compact defend vs top sides | Five-man mid line; Tamari lone striker holds ball | Defensive solidity |
| 4-3-3 | High press vs lower-ranked teams | Sabra + Tamari + Naimat press from front three | Pressing energy |
Group J Fixtures — Jordan at WC 2026
Matchday viewing routes are covered in the where to watch Jordan football guide before kickoff.
Jordan open against Austria at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium before facing Algeria at the same venue and Argentina in Dallas. The first two fixtures will shape Jordan’s realistic knockout route before the group closes against the defending champions. The Jordan FIFA World Cup 2026 TV schedule converts every group fixture and knockout placeholder into EEST for TV and stream coverage.
| Date | Kickoff (EEST) | Match | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 June 2026 | 7:00 AM | Austria vs Jordan | San Francisco Bay Area Stadium | San Francisco Bay Area, USA |
| 23 June 2026 | 6:00 AM | Jordan vs Algeria | San Francisco Bay Area Stadium | San Francisco Bay Area, USA |
| 28 June 2026 | 5:00 AM | Jordan vs Argentina | Dallas Stadium | Dallas, USA |
Group J — FIFA World Cup 2026
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇷 Argentina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 🇩🇿 Algeria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 🇯🇴 Jordan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Argentina enter Group J as defending World Cup champions — a side led by Lionel Messi with the depth of talent to overwhelm any opponent in the group at full strength. Algeria bring the quality of Riyad Mahrez, Mohamed Amoura, and a dominant qualifying campaign that produced 25 points and only three goals conceded across 10 matches. Austria are a disciplined, technically solid European side. Jordan’s most realistic target is third place with enough points to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams — and that means getting a result against Austria or Algeria, or both, across the first two group matches.
AFC Qualifying — How Jordan Reached the 2026 World Cup
Jordan qualified directly for the 2026 World Cup by finishing second in AFC Third Round Group B — six points behind South Korea but comfortably clear of third-placed Iraq. Their record of four wins, four draws, and two losses across 10 matches produced 16 points and a goal difference of +3 — not spectacular, but consistent enough to hold off the challenge of Iraq, who eventually reached the tournament themselves through the gruelling inter-confederation play-off route. Jordan’s unbeaten run of eight consecutive matches mid-campaign was the defining stretch — a period that confirmed Sellami’s system could handle the physical and tactical demands of elite Asian qualifying football across a full campaign.
AFC Third Round Group B — 4W 4D 2L · 16 Points · Finished 2nd, Direct Qualification
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 7 | 22 |
| 🇯🇴 Jordan | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 16 |
| 🇮🇶 Iraq | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 15 |
| 🇴🇲 Oman | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 11 |
| 🇵🇸 Palestine | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 8 |
| 🇰🇼 Kuwait | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 19 | 4 |
Jordan 2026 World Cup Kits
Jordan’s 2026 World Cup kits are designed to reflect the red, white, black, and green of the Jordanian national flag — colours that carry the history of a kingdom competing on football’s world stage for the very first time. The home kit features a white base with red and black trim, and the seven-pointed star from the flag incorporated into the design. The away kit uses red as the primary colour — bold, visible, and unmistakably Jordanian. Both kits carry the badge of the Jordan Football Association and are worn by a squad that has earned the right to represent the nation at a World Cup after decades of near-misses in qualification.
Jordan Football History & Road to the World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is Jordan’s first-ever appearance at the tournament. The Jordan national football team — known as Al-Nashama (النشامى, the Valiant Ones) — was founded in 1949 and has competed in AFC competition for decades without previously reaching the World Cup finals. Jordan’s closest pre-2026 achievement on the international stage was the 2023 AFC Asian Cup runner-up finish — their first-ever major tournament final, reached by beating South Korea 2-0 in the semi-finals before losing to Qatar 3-1 in the final. That run produced the confidence and tactical blueprint that Sellami then carried directly into the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
| Year | Milestone | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Founded | Jordan FA established — AFC member |
| 2004 | Asian Cup debut | Group stage — first major AFC tournament |
| 2023 | Asian Cup runner-up | Beat South Korea 2-0 in semi-final; lost to Qatar 3-1 in final |
| 2026 | First World Cup | Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria |
The 2023 Asian Cup runner-up finish is the lens through which all of Jordan’s 2026 ambitions are understood. The same players who beat South Korea in Doha — Al-Tamari, Haddad, Abulaila, Al-Naimat — now arrive at the World Cup knowing they are capable of defeating teams ranked far above them when the defensive organisation holds and the attack is precise. Sellami has spoken of Morocco’s 2022 path to the semi-finals as the model — not the destination, but the method. For a country of 10 million people making their World Cup debut in the biggest tournament in football history, every minute on that pitch in Santa Clara and Arlington will be an experience that echoes for generations.
Frequently Asked Questions
More World Cup 2026 Team Guides
Explore more 2026 FIFA World Cup team guides — Jordan’s Group J opponents and other debut nations at the tournament.
