Amman — Jordan’s national football team played out a goalless draw with Venezuela in a friendly on Tuesday evening at King Abdullah II Stadium in Al-Qweismeh, concluding the international break spanning September and October.
اضافة اعلان
The match was attended by Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, Chairman of the Jordan Football Association Executive Committee, along with several members of the association’s board, Acting Secretary-General Farah Badarna, and thousands of Jordanian fans.
The national team recorded its second draw of the current international break after drawing 1-1 with Syria last week, extending its winless run under new Moroccan head coach Badou Zaki.
The “Nashama” will continue preparations for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia during the next international break in November. Jordan will face Indonesia on Nov. 13 before taking on Australia on Nov. 17.
Jordan 0 Venezuela 0
Head coach Badou Zaki made several changes to the starting lineup compared with the previous match, bringing goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Fakhouri into the starting XI and deploying a four-man defense consisting of Anas Badawi, Abdullah Naseeb “Diara,” Saad Al-Rousan and Muhannad Abu Taha.
Nizar Al-Rashdan and Nour Al-Rawabdeh continued in midfield alongside Yousef Qashii, while Mousa Al-Taamari, Mahmoud Mardi and Ali Alwan formed the attacking line.
For Venezuela, head coach Oswaldo Vizcarrondo started Christopher Varela, Delfin Alfonso, Carlos Vivas, Yordan Osorio, Juan Sanchez, Wikelman Carmona, Mako Alvarado, Andros Araujo, Daniel Pereira, Edson Tortolero and Jovanni Bolivar.
Jordan started the match brightly, attacking the Venezuelan goal on several occasions. The clearest early chance came in the ninth minute when Al-Taamari fired from inside the penalty area, but the Venezuelan goalkeeper was equal to the effort.
Venezuela responded with a more dangerous opportunity three minutes later when Tortolero unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box that struck the right post of Al-Fakhouri’s goal.
Jordan’s performance faded as the match progressed, with Venezuela taking control of possession and initiative. The home side also struggled with passing accuracy from the back.
Jordan responded unexpectedly through Alwan after a quick counterattack in the 27th minute, with the forward’s effort deflected behind for a corner. Mardi then produced a skillful move inside the Venezuelan penalty area before sending his shot over the crossbar in the 33rd minute.
The remainder of the first half passed without any serious chances, with the teams going into the break level at 0-0.
Jordan looked sharper at the start of the second half, applying high pressure and attempting to win the ball back in Venezuela’s defensive areas. Al-Taamari missed a valuable opportunity in the 53rd minute when he headed wide, before firing a low effort from close range four minutes later that went wide of the left post.
Zaki then made three substitutions at once, bringing on Ahmad Al-Arsan, Mohammad Abu Zreiq “Sharara” and Tamer Bani Awda in place of Al-Taamari, Alwan and Qashii.
Sharara tested the Venezuelan goalkeeper with apowerful first-touch effort in the 66th minute that went over the bar. Eight minutes later, he missed another opportunity with a shot from a similar position.
The “Nashama” subsequently imposed their superiority, with Al-Awdat attempting to break through Venezuela’s defense with two efforts from outside the penalty area. The Venezuelan goalkeeper dealt with both attempts confidently.
Ahmad Assaf, Amer Jamous and Mohammad Abu Al-Nadi were then introduced for Jordan.
In stoppage time, Al-Arsan fired from outside the box, but the goalkeeper made another successful save before Iraqi referee Muhannad Qasim blew the final whistle to confirm the goalless draw.
Match notes and behind the scenes
Defender Yazan Al-Arab was absent from the starting lineup against Venezuela, marking his first absence from a Jordan national team match this year. He had started all previous matches alongside Nour Al-Rawabdeh, who continued his ever-present run.
Those in attendance observed a minute of silence before kickoff in memory of Al-Ahli youth team player Muatasem Al-Tawil, who died in a traffic accident on Monday.
For the third time in history, a South American national team has traveled to Jordan to face the national team. The first was Uruguay in 2013, when the two sides met in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, followed by a friendly against Paraguay in 2019.
Jordan’s winless run in 2026 continued, with its most recent victory in a friendly coming in September last year, when it defeated the Dominican Republic.
Resource: Al-Ghad.
