Jordan’s coach Adnan Hamad talks to Al Jazeera about how effectively he believes the Arab groups will do on the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Jordan’s soccer workforce did not qualify for the World Cup 2022 that takes place within the Center East for first time however the workforce’s supervisor continues to be excited to observe the event from the stands.
Adnan Hamad, hailing from Iraq, failed to steer his workforce to the World Cup after being eradicated by Australia within the second spherical of qualifiers.
The 61-year-old was first known as as much as the Iraq nationwide workforce as a participant within the 1984 Gulf Cup. From 2009 to 2013, he coached Jordan’s nationwide workforce and led them to the 2011 Asian Cup quarter-finals and the playoff spherical of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
Right here, he talks to Al Jazeera about Jordan’s workforce failing to make the World Cup and provides his predictions on how the Arab groups will carry out:
Al Jazeera: What went fallacious in Jordan’s qualification course of and what are the workforce’s hopes for World Cup 2026?
Hamad: The workforce missed a fantastic alternative, particularly given its efficiency now in comparison with final 12 months. Nevertheless, it's concerning the ongoing good stage of play and constructive outcomes. We goal to do higher after transferring up the rankings and reaching constructive outcomes towards main groups, and gaining set of gamers. This provides us a significant motivation to achieve the long run.
Our ambition and targets are clear: Qualify for the World Cup 2026.
This ambition requires work and we're holding steady conferences and placing collectively plan. However what's vital is making use of that plan. Everybody should come collectively and cooperate to achieve the aim of qualification.
Al Jazeera: 4 Arab groups – Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Morocco – are on this 12 months’s World Cup. How effectively do you assume they are going to do?
Hamad: To start with, the Qatari workforce is completely different than what it was. We're speaking a couple of workforce that's now Asian champions, they usually earned this title. We're speaking a couple of workforce that has developed enormously and a technology of gamers which have completed nice issues for Qatari soccer.
Their ambitions might be huge particularly based mostly on what we've got already seen from their participation in Copa America 2019 and European qualifiers for the World Cup. All this exhibits that Qatar is able to a fantastic efficiency. Qatar’s workforce has an actual alternative to qualify for the World Cup playoffs.
The Saudi workforce can even placed on present, particularly with this being its sixth look within the World Cup.
In the present day, Saudi soccer is clearly effectively developed, and the workforce has proven excessive technical ranges within the qualifiers. It has gamers of excessive calibre and the native competitors power at league ranges can also be excessive, which displays within the workforce.
Tunisia is among the strongest African groups. It has many professional gamers from main European leagues, which is why there might be excessive goals for fulfillment, particularly since they are going to have nice assist within the crowd.
The Moroccan workforce is taken into account the perfect Arab workforce taking part in within the Qatar World Cup. It has 20 skilled gamers from main European leagues. Within the qualifiers, it handed with flying colors and has a significant likelihood of progressing from the group.
I consider that the Moroccan workforce has the perfect set of gamers, and the chance is of their palms to be the darkish horse of the event.
Al Jazeera: Iraq has solely participated as soon as in a World Cup. What are your ideas on their struggles to make the event?
Hamad: It's unusual for Iraqi soccer that, regardless of its wealthy historical past and main skills, it has not certified for extra world cups. I used to be one of many gamers in World Cup 1986. We confronted main groups in a troublesome group. We misplaced three matches however the losses weren't main: We misplaced by one aim in every match.
At the moment, we struggled via a change of coaches, and there wasn’t a lot curiosity within the native competitions.
These causes had been sufficient to not obtain any wins in that event. I additionally consider that the participation was not constructive sufficient, however the workforce had largely untapped abilities.
This story was first printed right here on aljazeera.web.
The interview has been edited for brevity and readability.
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