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Ammon News - Jordan Times — As the country shifts focus to the upcoming last two matches in Jordan’s World Cup qualifying campaign, the local football agenda grinds to a halt.

The Jordan Professional League is on hold for a month, and the 34th Jordan Cup Round of 16 matches have also concluded with eight teams reaching the quarters set for the spring.

First Division teams surviving the knockout preliminary round gave the eight qualifiers from the 12 competing league clubs a hard time in Leg 1.

Leg 2 matches paved way for the quarter-finalists to advance. Ramtha beat Yarmouk 1-0 after a 0-0 draw, Faisali beat Balama 1-0 and 3-2, Baqaa crushed Ahli 5-1 and 1-0, Sheikh Hussein beat Jalil 2-0 and 3-1, Shabab Urdun beat Sahab 1-0 after a 0-0 draw, Hussein beat Sama Sarhan 3-1 after a 0-0 draw, titleholders That Ras beat Salt 5-1 after a 2-2 draw and Wihdat beat Ittihad Zarqa 3-1 after a 1-0 win.

The quarter-finals are split between two groups. In the first group, That Ras will face Wihdat and Hussein will play Shabab Urdun.

The other group matches pit Ramtha against Faisali and Baqaa vs. Sheikh Hussein.

Winners from each match will proceed to the semifinals.

Last year, That Ras, a relative newcomer to the Jordan Professional League, upstaged teams and won the Jordan Cup — their first-ever major title. This season, Hussein Irbid and Sheikh Hussein are back among the pro league clubs.

Faisali are a record 17-time winners of the Jordan Cup, Wihdat were champs nine times, Ramtha and Shabab Urdun twice while Jazira, Arabi and That Ras won once.

In 2012, Shabab Urdun won the 61st Jordan Professional League, Faisali the 30th Cup Winners’ Cup, That Ras the 33rd Jordan Cup while the Jordan Football Association Shield was not held.

Earlier this season, Shabab Urdun won the Cup Winners’ Cup when they beat That Ras in the first of the four major local events on the 2013/14 calendar.