Pre-match speech
In the previous match, U23 Jordan had a spectacular 3-2 victory over host U23 Saudi Arabia. This result helped them nurture hopes of going further, after losing to U23 Vietnam 0-2 in the opening match. The current situation in Group A is very complicated when all four teams U23 Vietnam (6 points), U23 Saudi Arabia, U23 Jordan (all 3 points) and U23 Kyrgyzstan (0 points) still have a chance to win tickets to the quarterfinals.
The victory over U23 Kyrgyzstan may not guarantee a ticket to the next round because of the result of the match between U23 Saudi Arabia vs U23 Vietnam at the same time, but the immediate task of Jordan head coach Omar Najhi is to defeat this Central Asian team.
U23 Jordan coach said: "Our performance against U23 Vietnam was not good, but we adjusted it in the match against U23 Saudi Arabia. I want to thank all the players, the entire coaching staff as well as the fans.
We are focusing more highly and determined not to repeat old mistakes. Of course, we always have to prepare carefully. All players are important, everyone will be energetic and ready, and we must maintain focus, learn from what has happened, and return with even higher determination.
U23 Kyrgyzstan, despite the defeats against U23 Saudi Arabia and Vietnam, still has a slim chance to win a ticket to the next round and head coach Edmar Lacerda affirmed that his team will play the final match with the highest determination.
He said: "The matches were decided in 90 minutes, and we had time to prepare - in Turkey and Dubai. But unfortunately, things did not go as we expected with 2 defeats.
However, we need to continue to show a positive attitude when playing for the national team. The players are all aware of what they need to do. We need to play the final match like a final for the honor of the whole country.
Notable statistics
This will be the first meeting between U23 Jordan and U23 Kyrgyzstan at the AFC U23 Championship. In the past, U23 Jordan lost to an opponent when their first meeting at the AFC U23 Championship was a 1-4 defeat to U23 Indonesia in 2024.
U23 Jordan missed 3/4 of the big chances in the past two matches, a record only second to U23 Saudi Arabia (6) and U23 Japan (5). Two of the regrettable misses of the West Asian team belonged to striker Odeh Fakhoury.
Goalkeeper Kurmanbek Nurlanbekov of U23 Kyrgyzstan has made 10 saves after 2 matches, including 6 saves in the penalty area, the most compared to any goalkeeper in this tournament. Notably, this goalkeeper saved a penalty kick in the match against U23 Saudi Arabia.
The U23 Jordan vs U23 Kyrgyzstan match will take place at 11:30 PM on January 12.
