Jordanian national soccer team coach Hussein Amuta (55), who made Korean soccer cry at the last Asian Cup, put down the baton.
Amuta, a former midfielder of the Morocco national team who assumed the leadership of Jordan in June 2023, left the team for the first time in exactly a year on Wednesday (Korea time). The JFA said it concluded the contract with Amuta after mutual agreement. Jamal Selami, a former coach of the Morocco U-20 national team who is also from Morocco, handed over the baton.
According to Morocco and Middle Eastern media, the reason why Amuta leaves Jordan is known to be his wife’s health problem.
JFA said in a statement, “We express our deep pride and gratitude for the period (in which Amuta led the national team). This period will be forever remembered by the Jordanian soccer community and Jordanian fans.”
Amuta led the team to the finals at the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup, which was held in January and February, when they beat Iraq and South Korea in succession, for the first time in Jordan’s history. Jordan lost to host Qatar and finished second.
Jordan’s ace Moussa Altamari (Montpellier) credited Amuta with the victory, saying, “The coach’s tactical training was effective,” and “He instilled confidence in the coach, saying, “Don’t respect the opponent too much and don’t give him space to attack.” Amuta embarrassed the Korean players with a strategy of pushing them hard from the beginning, noting that Korea’s defense was unstable by allowing eight runs in the previous five games. 토토사이트
On the other hand, then national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann knelt down after failing to find a breakthrough, and this match remained Klinsmann’s last game as he was dismissed in February. It was belatedly revealed that there had been a “table tennis gate” within the team ahead of the match against Jordan after the tournament. Korea, which was not tactically prepared and could not even become an original team, was a natural step in some ways. The Korea Football Association has been in a skit since it failed to select a replacement for Klinsmann for more than four months. Jordan, ranked 68th in the FIFA rankings, appointed a new head coach at the same time as the existing coach was replaced.
Amuta stayed with the team and led the team to advance to the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. Jordan won the second qualifying round with four wins, one draw and one loss, and achieved a miracle of winning the top spot in Group G.