The past few years have represented huge progress for Jordanian football. The culmination of that will be their debut at the tournament in the USA.Few fans of the 'Chivalrous Knights' are likely to be in attendance, however. Jordanian fans are struggling to get visas to travel to the US, an issue heightened by the closure of the US embassy in Amman as a result of the Iran war.They are one of several nations where this is the case, dampening the mood slightly for fans ahead of the tournament. This is of course on top of the exorbitant ticket costs at this tournament.They are one of four World Cup debutants at this summer’s expanded tournament alongside Cape Verde, Uzbekistan and Curacao.‌After a fantastic run to the final in the delayed 2024 edition of the Asian Cup, Jordan had the belief they could go on and qualify for this tournament.“There was a sea change... there was a new belief in the players.“There’s no going back to how things were, that’s the new standard,” Arabian football journalist Bassil Mikdadi told our Make Football Great Again podcast.Jordan qualified automatically for the 2026 World Cup finishing in second place in Group B of the third round of AFC Qualifying.‌They finished only behind regional powerhouses South Korea. In their group they finished ahead of Iraq, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait.In Group J alongside Argentina, Algeria and Austria, Jordan are rank outsiders. However, this is not necessarily as a bad thing.“I think it’s perhaps the best possible group that Jordan could have hoped for.‌“If you are going to be eliminated in the group stage at your first World Cup, you want to feel like you’re at the World Cup. There’s no better feeling than playing the holders who are led by Lionel Messi,” Bassil said.Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!Their opponents must not underestimate Jordan either. Plenty including South Korea and Iraq did that at the 2024 Asian Cup and were made to pay.“They will not sit in a low block, but will sit in a medium block, but they are very content to let you have the ball and are very good at suffering.‌“When Jordan win games they usually have less possession,” Bassil said. Underdog status, therefore, should suit the style of play.Having previously been managed by Harry Redknapp and the late Ray Wilkins, they will be led by Morrocan Jamal Sellami at the tournament. The 55-year-old had only previously coached in Morocco; winning the top flight, before taking the Jordan job.In 2025, he was granted Jordanian citizenship by King Abdullah II in recognition of his excellent contribution to Jordanian football. As well as qualifying for this tournament, they reached the final of the 2025 Arab Cup, where Jordan lost to Sellami’s native Morocco.‌Jordan’s star man at the World Cup will likely be ‘The Jordanian Messi’; Musa Al-Tamari. The Rennes winger has scored 24 goals in 90 caps for his country, as well as bagging four goals and five assists in Ligue 1 this season.Al-Tamari will of course get to face the real Messi, when Jordan take on Argentina. He is one of only two players included in the squad who play their club football in Europe.The other is 20-year-old Ibrahim Sabra who spent last season on loan at Lokomotiva Zagreb from Turkish side Goztepe. The young striker is arguably Jordan’s most exciting young player.He could be heavily relied on after an ACL injury to Yazan Al-Naimat ruled him out of the tournament. Al-Naimat was Jordan’s top scorer in qualifying and will be a big miss.‌This is a group of players who will be very familiar with playing alongside one another though. Eight members of the squad play their club football for Jordanian Champions Al-Hussein.Other squad members such as defensive midfielder Ibrahim Sadeh and left back Mohammed Abu-Hashish play in Iraq. Nizar Al-Rashdan and Ali Olwan both play in the Qatar Stars League, arguably the region’s second strongest league.West Brom’s Tammer Bany has one cap for Jordan and is the only Jordanian currently playing in the EFL, but he was left out of the squad by Sellami, due to registration issues.‌“He was all set for Palestine, and then a couple of months later he decided to play for Jordan...He cannot play for Jordan in official competitions because his player registration card with the Asian Football federation is with Palestine,” Bassil said about Bany.They hoped to also have Cardiff City striker Yousef Salech in the team, but he has not committed to Jordan. The Danish born forward is eligible to play for the nation of his birth, Jordan, Poland and Palestine.Content cannot be displayed without consent