Quarter-final selection headache for injury-hit Egypt and Jordan

Jordan players during a training session yesterday, ahead of their FIFA Arab Cup quarter-final against Egypt.

Ahead of their quarter-final clash at the FIFA Arab Cup, Egypt and Jordan were reeling under similar conundrum. Both the sides were nursing injuries to key players in what has created selection headaches for the coaches. Today’s winner at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakra will take on Tunisia in the semi-finals. But for Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz and his Jordan counterpart Adnan Hamad it was more about which players and formations they will go with for today’s last eight clash. Defenders Ahmed Hegazy and Ayman Ashraf, who went off with injuries during Egypt’s 1-1 draw with Algeria in the final group stage match on Tuesday, were both ruled out yesterday for the Jordan clash. Ahly playmaker Magdi Afsha has recovered from a minor complaint that ruled him out of the Algeria clash but Queiroz also said he won’t be rushed back into action. The Pharaohs are already playing without some of their prized assets, including Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah, Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny, Stuttgart winger Omar Marmoush and Galatasaray striker Mostafa Mohamed. With the team mainly comprising of locally-based players, Queiroz is testing some new faces before the African Cup of Nations gets underway in January. Jordan have injury crisis of their own. Centre-back Mohamed al-Dmeiri and midfielder Ahmed Thaer are expected to be sidelined, while captain Bahaa Faisal tore his cruciate ligament just 13 minutes into their clash with Morocco and has also been ruled out of the tournament. However, Ehsan Haddad, who picked up a red card in the opening game against Saudi Arabia and missed out the entire group stage, is likely to return. Yazan al-Naimat returned to action from an injury in the last game, scoring twice off the bench against Palestine. He could be given a chance to lead the Jordan line today. Egypt coach Queiroz was hopeful the available players can put up a tough fight against Jordan, who the Portuguese called a strong team. “Ahmed Hegazy and Ayman Ashraf won’t be available. Other than that, there is no problem and all the players are ready and have a strong desire to put in a good performance,” Queiroz said. The Pharaohs topped their group only by receiving one fewer yellow cards than Algeria and are strong favourites for this clash but Queiroz cautioned his players not to take Jordan lightly. “Jordan deserve their place in the quarters; they are a strong team. Jordan have prepared well for this tournament and played six friendly matches before arriving in Qatar. Once the match starts, both teams have a 50% chance of winning,” he said. “We also have good players and are a strong team. Chances are equal between Egypt and Jordan. “Our players know the responsibility entrusted to them and we want to qualify for the semi-finals,” he added. The Portuguese reiterated that the Arab Cup was a chance for his side to experiment with his side before the African Nations Cup and an anticipated two-legged World Cup qualifying playoff in March. Jordan will not be lacking in confidence when they take on Egypt, having advanced to the quarter-finals behind Morocco at the expense of Saudi Arabia and Palestine. Their 1-0 defeat of Saudi Arabia put Jordan on the road to the knockout stage and they recovered well from their 4-0 loss to Morocco to waltz to a 5-1 win over Palestine. Egypt will be the favourites but they will do well not to underestimate a Jordan team determined to extend their FIFA Arab Cup journey. The last time these two teams faced, Jordan beat Egypt 1-0 in a friendly game in 2016. The Egypt-Jordan clash will also see rivalries renewed between coaches Queiroz and Hamad. The pair have locked horns twice before in friendlies. Their first encounter came in February 2012, when Queiroz was coach of Iran and Hamad was at the helm of Jordan, and ended in a 2-2 draw. The two then met again in May of that same year, with the match ending in a goalless draw.   Jordan coach Hamad said his team were raring to go despite injury troubles plaguing them. “It will no doubt be a difficult match because of injury issues we had and also some players tested positive of coronavirus, which has affected the team during the tournament,” the Iraqi said yesterday. “We need to be mentally prepared against Egypt and believe that we can reach the semi-finals. The knockout matches are different from group stage matches. The margin of error is minimum in quarters, so we have to be defensively more careful,” he added.