Jordan and Uzbekistan squads arrived in Doha on Tuesday ahead of the Asian Cup Qatar. Jordan will play two friendly matches as part of their preparation for the Asian showpiece event.
Jordan will play their first match against Malaysia at the Al Janoub Stadium on January 15 before facing South Korea on Jan 20 at Al Thumama Stadium and Bahrain on Jan 25 at the Khalifa International Stadium in Group E. Regular participants in recent times, the West Asian side will be determined to go beyond the quarter-final stage for the first time as they look to build on their recent progress.
Jordan have qualified for four consecutive editions of the Asian Cup since 2011, having done so just once before in 2004. They have progressed from the group stage in three of their past four participations, including UAE 2019.
Their Moroccan coach Hussein Ammouta said: “We are playing in a strong group and I believe that our first match against Malaysia will be crucial. We have to win it.”
He noted that victory in their first match will have a positive impact on Jordan team in the rest of its matches in the group stage.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan will open their campaign in Group B against Syria at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Jan 13. They will next face India at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium on Jan 18 and Australia at the Al Janoub Stadium on Jan 23.
Uzbekistan is coached by experienced Slovenian manager Srecko Katanec, who returns again to the Asian Cup for the third time after coaching the UAE in 2011 edition and Iraq in 2019.
Uzbekistan has qualified for the tournament in the last eight editions, and has made it to the knockout rounds in the past five editions. Uzbeks have happy memories of Qatar, having registered their best Asian Cup finish – fourth – here in the 2011 edition.
