Amman — Jordan’s national football team will look to end its current camp on a positive note when it faces Venezuela at 8 p.m. today in a friendly that carries both technical and morale-boosting significance for the two teams.
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The match gives Al-Nashama head coach Badou Zaki another opportunity to test his options and assess the readiness of a number of players.
The game comes days after Jordan drew 1-1 with Syria in a match that highlighted several technical shortcomings in the team’s performance.
Venezuela, meanwhile, began its current camp with a 1-2 defeat to Japan before drawing 0-0 with South Korea, and will also be looking for a win to end its camp on a more positive note.
Jordan enters the match aware that a victory would mean more than just a friendly result, given the coaching staff’s need to build confidence in the new phase, establish greater stability and give players an opportunity to prove they deserve places in the team’s future plans.
Zaki has room to make changes to his lineup, particularly as the current camp provides an opportunity to assess several players more closely. Injuries have also forced some adjustments to his plans, including the absence of Yousef Abu Jalboush, known as Saisa, and the return of Fakhouri from the Venezuela match.
The Al-Nashama coach hopes the Venezuela game will be technically different from the Syria match, with Jordan showing greater balance, improving its attacking build-up and reducing the mistakes seen in the previous game. The match will also provide opportunities for some players Zaki wants to assess ahead of upcoming competitions.
The game is also important for the players themselves, with each looking to do enough to convince the coaching staff that they deserve to remain in the national-team setup, particularly as the next stage will require competition for places and greater levels of readiness.
Zaki spoke about the Venezuela match, highlighting the technical value it can offer both teams while playing down the significance of which players will be absent from the opposition.
Speaking to the media during Jordan’s official training session yesterday, the Moroccan coach said his team would approach the match seriously, regardless of whether Venezuela fields its strongest lineup or a mix of regular starters and substitutes. He said Jordan would be looking for technical gains that could be built upon in the next phase.
Zaki said the national team views the match as an opportunity to reinforce its identity and test the individual and tactical abilities of its players, while identifying details that can be retained and further developed in the future.
He added that such matches give the coaching staff room to make final adjustments and strengthen an optimistic outlook for the future.
Zaki said the absences in Venezuela’s squad do not diminish the importance of the match, noting that the Venezuelan team will also seek to benefit from the game, whether it uses several regular starters or a mix of first-team players and substitutes. This, he said, makes the match a technical test for both sides regardless of the missing players.
The coach also revealed details about injuries affecting several Jordanian players, explaining that some arrived at the camp carrying injuries whose extent was not initially clear before they worsened during training.
He said Yousef Abu Jalboush, known as Saisa, was one such case. Abu Jalboush arrived with the team from Algeria carrying an injury, and its effects became more apparent during training, ruling him out of the Syria match and subsequently the Venezuela game.
“Abu Jalboush did not produce the level the coaching staff expected from him in training. The player was trying to participate and train despite not being fully fit, but the way he was moving was not natural, which prompted the coaching staff to handle his situation cautiously and avoid taking a risk with him,” Zaki said.
The coach also revealed that Awdeh Fakhouri is injured and will not be fit for the Venezuela match after an injury he had previously sustained with Egyptian club Pyramids FC flared up again. Fakhouri started against Syria.
Zaki is expected to make changes to the lineup, with the following players likely to feature: Yazeed Abu Layla, Ihsan Haddad, Yazan Al Arab, Saad Al-Rousan, Muhannad Abu Taha, Nizar Al-Rashdan, Nour Al-Rawabdeh, Ali Al-Azayzeh, Mousa Al-Taamari, Ahmad Al-Arsan and Ali Alwan.
On the other side, Venezuela comes into the match with similar motivation after failing to win either of its first two games in the camp, losing 1-2 to Japan before drawing 0-0 with South Korea. It therefore has one final opportunity to secure a victory and gain a morale boost before leaving the camp.
The match is also important for Venezuelan head coach Oswaldo Vizcarrondo as he looks to assess a number of players and options, particularly amid changes to the squad and the absences affecting the team. The coaching staff may therefore rely on a combination of experienced players and those looking to prove themselves.
Venezuela’s squad includes Christopher Varela, Daniel Pereira, Marco Libra, Andrew Araujo, Roman Davis and Yerwin Sulbaran.
Resource: Al-Ghad. Reporting: By Muhannad Jweiles
