India will play Jordan for the first time in an international friendly, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday November 17, during the FIFA November 2018 international friendly window.

The match will be held at the King Abdullah II International Stadium in Amman. The friendly will serve as much-needed preparation for the Indian national team as they get ready for the highly anticipated AFC Asian Cup in January. Jordan, who are currently ranked 110 in the World, narrowly went down 2-1 to Croatia in their last match in October.

The Blue Tigers put up a valiant performance against People’s Republic of China in October, earning a goalless draw. Against Jordan, Stephen Constantine’s men will look to secure a victory and hold on to the momentum going into the AFC Asian Cup.

In a press release, General Secretary of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Mr. Kushal Das spoke on the importance of this tie for the team. “The AFC Asian Cup is knocking at the door and as part of our preparation, it’s pertinent that the national team prepares in the best possible fashion by playing against stronger teams. Jordan are a very tough side who went down to World Cup runners-up Croatia 1-2 in their last match. It will be an acid test for us.”

Head coach of the Indian national team, Stephen Constantine shed light on Jordan’s quality, which was displayed in their encounter against Croatia last month. “This is going to be a really good game for several reasons. Firstly, Jordan is a quality team as we saw them in their 1-2 loss to Croatia the other day. We have to understand the level we are going to face in UAE and to be able to deal with it, we have to face tests like this. The game against China was a big test, and Jordan will be another one as well.”

Constantine also gave some insights into the climatic conditions in Jordan, which will help the team cope up when they compete in the UAE for the AFC Cup. “After we secured our qualification we knew we needed to play against those opponents who will put us under pressure from the start. Moreover, we'll play in Amman where the environment is very much similar to Abu Dhabi and Sharjah where we will play in January.”