Amman celebrates as Jordan qualifies for first-ever World Cup

Jordanians celebrated in Amman late into Thursday night as the kingdom qualified for their first-ever football World Cup, undoubtedly the country's most significant sporting moment.

Jordan's national team thrashed Oman 3-0, becoming the first Arab country to secure a place in the 2026 World Cup in North America.

The kingdom achieved the remarkable feat, despite being ranked just 62nd in the world, and secured one of the eight guaranteed places for Asian teams in the World Cup, with Uzbekistan, South Korea, and Japan also qualified.

Amman was a cacophony of horns and trumpets on Thursday night, as Jordanians took to the streets to celebrate Al-Nashama's ("the chivalrous ones") historic achievement.

Crown Prince Hussein was in the stands for the game in Muscat, celebrating with supporters as Ali Iyad Olwan secured a hat-trick and the team prayed on the pitch when the final whistle was blown.

His wife, Princess Rajwa, joined HH Princess Iman and HH Princess Salma in the Omani capital, with Jordanian fans packing out the stands for the match.

Watching the match from the Jordanian embassy in London, King Abdullah II took to X to celebrate the national team's triumph .

"I sincerely congratulate the sons and daughters of our dear people on our national football team's qualification for the World Cup finals. This historic qualification is well-deserved by our team, which includes stars and cadres we are proud of," he said.

"A special thanks to our loyal fans who have been our support and encouragement. The Al-Nashama have been and will remain true to their promise."

A thrilling day in Asian qualifiers. Jordan & Uzbekistan book historic first-ever FIFA World Cup spots, while Patrick Kluivert leads Indonesia to fourth round of qualifiers after a 1-0 win over China, with Oxford United’s Ole Romeny scoring the winner pic.twitter.com/0Yp3uoSoeK

— Mohamed El Gharbawy (@Gharbawy) June 5, 2025

This was Jordan's seventh attempt to qualify for the World Cup, having come close to making it through to the finals for the 2014 edition in Brazil.

Jordan narrowly missed out on qualifying when they lost to Uruguay in the intercontinental playoffs.

Since then, Jordan's football team has stagnated. Their defeat to Qatar in the final of the Asian Cup last year was a heartbreaking moment for the nation, but marked a footballing renaissance for Al-Nashama and gave hope for Jordanians with a new generation of footballers.

Thousands of Jordanians are expected to head to North America for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico.