At the end of a 500-mile road trip from San Diego to San Jose, hundreds of Jordan supporters marked the “small but mighty” nation’s World Cup debut against Austria on Tuesday with singing, chanting and tributes to King Abdullah II outside a stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A convoy of vehicles draped in Jordan’s red flags stopped in Los Angeles for a break before continuing north, where members of the Bay Area’s Jordanian community gathered to welcome them.
Wearing a traditional red-and-white shemagh, student Rashed Kanawi said he was moved to tears when the team secured qualification for the North America finals a year earlier.
“I’ll be honest with you, my heart was broken when we lost to Uruguay in the 2014 qualification playoff,” he told Reuters, referring to the 5-0 aggregate defeat in late 2013.
“It’s so special. Everyone here is representing their nation in the best way they can. As you can see, everyone’s wearing the shemagh. The one I’m wearing is Bedouin.
“I’m just so happy to be here.”
The U.S. Jordanian community numbered about 120,000 in the 2020 census, but it was well represented outside the home stadium of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
Hussien Eid and his 13-year-old son, Moody, traveled from Chicago to attend the game.
“It’s a dream come true, and we are very proud of it. We waited for so long for this moment,” 45-year-old Eid told Reuters.
“And it’s officially happened now, and we are supporting our team from A to Z, no matter what.
“Jordan made it. And finally, it makes 11 million Jordanians happy. They deserve to come from all over the world for them.”
Coached by Morocco’s Jamal Sellami, Jordan have become a power in Arab football in recent years, reaching the finals of the 2023 Asian Cup and the 2025 Arab Cup.
But in a tough group that also includes champions Argentina and Algeria, Jordan will need a small miracle to reach the knockout phase.
Win or lose, fans said they would support them just as passionately.
Mona Naffa, who works in the tourism industry in Jordan, was thrilled to be there to witness history.
“Jordan is small but mighty, so this is very powerful for our country,” she said.
