World Cup Qualifying - Asia | Third Round

Nov 14, 2024 at 12am UK

Iraqvs.Jordan

Match preview

Iraq are bidding to reach the World Cup for just the second time in their history after making their only previous appearance in the 1986 tournament in Mexico.

They made an impressive start to their latest qualification bid, winning all six matches in the second round to finish top of a group which included Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Iraq carried that fine form into the start of the third qualifying round, with their first three matches producing two wins and one draw.

They beat Oman and drew with Kuwait in September before they went on to claim a narrow 1-0 win in October's home meeting with Palestine.

However, their unbeaten run in World Cup qualifying was brought to an end by a 3-2 defeat in their away clash against South Korea on October 15.

While they would have been disappointed with that result, Iraq will fancy their chances of claiming all three points from Thursday's fixture, having won each of their five home matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifying cycle.

Jordan are dreaming of making their first-ever World Cup appearance after experiencing disappointment in their previous 10 qualifying campaigns.

They made a promising start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying bid, collecting 13 points from six matches to finish in top spot in Group G in the second round.

Jordan will be satisfied with their work so far in the third stage of qualifying, having won two, drawn one and lost one of their four matches.

After playing out a 1-1 draw with Kuwait, Jordan went on to record a 3-1 win against Palestine in their final match of the September international window.

They returned to action with a 2-0 defeat in last month's home game against South Korea, before they got back on track with a dominant 4-0 win over Oman, which came courtesy of braces from Yazan Al-Naimat and Ali Olwan.

Having played three of their last four matches on home turf, Jordan will now head on their travels for Thursday's fixture, and they will be looking to extend their unbeaten away run in World Cup qualifying to five matches.

Recent Performance

Iraq World Cup Qualifying - Asia form:WWWDWL

Jordan World Cup Qualifying - Asia form:WWDWLW

Jordan form (all competitions):DWDWLW

Team News

It looks like Iraq boss Jesus Casas might go with a backline featuring Hussein Ali, Rebin Sulaka, Zaid Tahseen and Merchas Doski.

In the final third, Aymen Hussein will be looking to build on his impressive performance, having scored in each of his 10 international appearances.

The visitors are likely to have goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila protected by a back three comprising Abdallah Nasib, Yazan Al-Arab and Mohammad Abualnadi.

On the other side of the pitch, Montpellier's Mousa Al-Tamari has made a comeback after an injury, and he'll be playing with Olwan and Al-Naimat in a forward line.

Possible starting lineup

Iraq possible starting lineup:

Hassan; Ali, Sulaka, Tahseen, Doski; Yahya, Al-Ammari; Bayesh, Jasim, Amyn; Hussein

Jordan possible starting lineup:

Abulaila; Nasib, Al-Arab, Abualnadi; Haddad, Al-Rashdan, Ayed, Abu Taha; Al-Tamari, Olwan, Al-Naimat