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Ammon News - by Aline Bannayan

AMMAN (The Jordan Times) — Jordan’s new football coach Hosam Hassan said the national team might still recruit additional players, saying he is confident the team will qualify to the World Cup 2014.

The former Egypt international said the upcoming Jordan Cup matches will give him a chance to have a closer look at the performance of all players, as the national team prepares for two big battles.

“The late coach Mahmoud Johary is my idol… Coach Adnan Hamad was able to get the team to this point. My aim is to continue their journey and hopefully reach the World Cup,” he was quoted by local media as saying after Monday’s late evening training.

Finishing third in Group B FIFA Round 4 World Cup qualifiers gave Jordan a chance to reach the World Cup for the first time.

The team needs to eliminate Group A third-placed Uzbekistan on September 6 and 10.

The winner will then have a chance to qualify via the intercontinental play-off.

Jordan is also gearing up for the restart of the 2015 Asian Cup Group A qualifiers. They will play Syria on August 15 and Oman on October 15. Jordan is currently top of Group A, after defeating Singapore 4-0.

The coach said he hoped the squad would have at least one friendly before the Syria match.

Hassan, who will work with his brother Ibrahim and a local coach yet to be named, is a record-breaking player.

He scored a national record of 69 goals for the Pharaohs in a glittering international career.

With Egypt, the 46-year-old has won three Africa Cup of Nations and played 163 international games.

Hassan started his career as a junior with Al Ahli Club in 1982 and played for clubs in Greece, Switzerland, the UAE and a host of Egyptian clubs. He was then coach of Egypt’s Zamalek, Al Ahli Port Said and Ismaili.

In the Asian Cup qualifiers, 25 teams have been divided into five groups.

The top two teams from each group and the best third-placed will qualify to the tournament, slated in 2015.

Jordan reached the Asian Cup finals twice since 1972; the pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when it lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA rank of 37 in August 2004.

In 2011, Jordan again reached the quarter-finals where they lost to Uzbekistan 2-1.