Jordanian National Team Faces Tunisia, Calls Up New England-Based Pro Player

Jordan's national football team faces Tunisia in a friendly match Friday night at the Hamadi Agrebi Olympic Stadium in Tunis. Both teams are preparing for the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025, scheduled for December 1-18 in Doha. This match carries extra significance for Jordan, which qualified for the World Cup for the first time in its history.

Jordan will play another friendly against Mali next Tuesday as part of their preparation schedule. The team has been drawn into Group 3 of the Arab Cup alongside Egypt, UAE, and the winner of the Kuwait-Mauritania playoff. Tunisia sits in Group 1 with Qatar and the winners from Syria vs South Sudan and Palestine vs Libya.

Jordan's Moroccan coach Jamal Sellami supervised the team's final training session at Amman International Stadium Tuesday before departing for Tunisia. He told France Press that Jordan lacks experience against different football schools. "Tunisia has a strong team with multiple World Cup appearances," Sellami said. "They're different from other African teams in terms of defensive strength and technical characteristics."

The coach emphasized the importance of these friendlies for gaining experience. "We're looking to gain experience from facing Tunisia and then Mali, which has professional players in strong leagues," he added.

Sellami recalled local league top scorer Mohammed Al-Arsan, who has 8 goals this season, after a period of absence. He also called up West Bromwich Albion winger Tamer Bani Odeh for the first time.

The historical record between these teams heavily favors Tunisia. They won 4-0 in their first meeting during the 1963 Arab Cup in Lebanon, followed by a 5-0 victory in a 1974 friendly tournament in Syria. The teams drew 3-3 in their most recent encounter, a 2011 friendly in Amman.

Jordan began World Cup preparations in early September with friendlies against Russia (0-0 draw) and Dominican Republic (3-0 win). Last month in Turkey, they lost to Bolivia 1-0 and Albania 4-2.

Jordan became the first Arab nation to secure a spot in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. They finished second in Group 3 of the third round of Asian qualifiers behind South Korea in early June.

Tunisia qualified for their seventh World Cup appearance in September by beating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 away in the eighth round of African Group 8 qualifiers. They're also preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco from December 21 to January 18, where they'll face Uganda, Nigeria, and Tanzania in Group 3.