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Morocco’s coach explains behind the scenes of the historic qualification and the secret of success.
Morocco’s coach Jamal Salami described Jordan’s qualification to the World Cup for the first time in history as a “dream come true”.
Al-Nashama is preparing for his first experience at the upcoming World Cup, hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, where he will play in a tough group with his Algerian brother in addition to defending champions Argentina and Austria.
The historic qualifying moment… “I felt relieved”.
In an exclusive interview given to the official website of the International Football Federation (FIFA), Al-Salami told the details of the selection moment, saying: “When we qualified, we were watching the Iraq-Korea game. I took a step back and left the celebration square. I sat alone and watched the players. I felt relieved because my job is to make others proud.”
He added: “I helped make all Jordanians proud of their national team.”
“When I took over as coach of Al-Nashama, I told the players that I did not come to waste my time or theirs. Strengths were team spirit and high morale. Ambition and passion were key. We focused on contact and achieved the goal with everyone’s joint efforts.”
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The biggest challenge… before Messi
“We are in an important preparatory phase. The biggest challenge is recurring injuries to players. We are working on integrating new players to expand the selection base. We met teams with different philosophies to gain experience because our World Cup opponents have strong methods.”
Regarding the confrontation between Argentina and Messi, he added: “Argentina’s match is the third after Austria and Algeria. I hope Messi will participate because he is still an icon. The match will be interesting and may decide our qualification.”
He also considered it a double challenge, saying: “To face him is a unique experience. We will meet two world champions, a player (Messi) and a coach (Scaloni), and this is a big challenge that requires special preparation.
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He continued. “Participating in the World Cup is a great achievement in itself, an opportunity to show character, culture and ambition. Our presence is an opportunity to prove that we are worthy to represent Asia. The most important thing is the preparation of the starting line-up, because we don’t have a big base of players.”
The spirit of hunger… and a message to the public
As for the character she wants to portray, she said: “I want the performance to reflect the spirit of Nashama, which means courage, unity and boldness. We are able to present a positive image and highlight the identity of Jordanian football for future generations.”
He sent a message to his fans. “I think they are very proud. I want them to feel happy when the world sees them at the 2026 World Cup and it will be the start of a promising future.”
Regarding the principles of success, he explained: “Honesty within the group and cohesion around a collective goal. These are two principles that were very important. We went through difficult periods and missing key players, but the spirit of the group helped us overcome teams stronger than us.”
He concluded. “The secret to success, if achieved, is the spirit of youth, the courage, confidence, unity and determination of His Majesty Prince Ali, the Crown Prince, the fans and everyone who loves this team.”
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