Jordan is making its FIFA World Cup debut this year. But the world’s 63rd–ranked men’s football team did not arrive here overnight. This moment is the payoff for a three-decade journey of blood, sweat, and persistence that lifted Jordan from the pits of footballing despair. And here’s a striking contrast: when Jordan was languishing at 152nd in 1996, India sat 40 places higher at 112th, having slipped 18 places from its all-time best ranking of 94 only five months earlier.
Today, as Jordan gets ready to face Austria, Algeria, and defending champions Argentina at the 2026 World Cup, India, ranked 139th, will once again be watching from the sidelines.
So what did Jordan do right to bring about this revolution? And what can Indian football learn from its journey?
Same start, different ending
The road to the 2026 World Cup for Jordan did not begin with its current team. The country treated football as a long-term project rather than a series of short-term experiments. Jordan did not have the financial muscle of Saudi Arabia or Qatar, nor did it have a large population to draw talent from. So, what was the formula? Pure patience.
Over the last two decades, Jordan invested steadily in youth football and age-group national teams, like U-15, U-17, and U-19. Players were identified early, brought into organised systems, and given opportunities to play together. Many members of the current squad have spent years progressing through the country’s football structure. By the time they reached the senior national team, they already had experience in international competition.
Meanwhile, India’s journey has been very different.
Historically, India has often tried to do things quickly. It wanted results in a short time. Every few years, a new coach or a new development plan is presented. Yet the national team continues to struggle. It’s not that there isn’t any talent in the Indian football team. The real problem lies in continuity, which India has failed to maintain for decades.
Football development is not about one four-year run-up to the World Cup. It is about long-term patience, which is measured over decades.
Another thing which helped the Jordanian team is that they have been playing in a far more competitive football environment. Located in West Asia, it faces teams such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, and Iran. These countries have consistently been among Asia’s strongest footballing nations. Even defeats against such opponents expose players to higher standards and force teams to improve.
India, meanwhile, has spent much of the past decade competing within South Asian teams like Bangladesh and Pakistan. Winning regional tournaments may provide moments of celebration, but they do little to prepare a team for the demands of Asian football’s elite. The gap becomes evident whenever India faces stronger opposition in continental competitions.
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A lesson from Jordan
There is another lesson in Jordan’s rise.
For years, Indian football has been haunted by one statistic: the country’s population of more than 1.4 billion. The number is often repeated as if it should automatically produce a World Cup team. But football history tells a different story.
Croatia reached the 2018 World Cup final with a population of less than four million. Uruguay has won two World Cups with a population smaller than that of several Indian cities. Iceland, too, qualified in 2018. Then, Jordan’s qualification is another reminder that football is not a numbers game. Organisation, planning, and consistency matter more for the sport.
That is perhaps the most uncomfortable truth for Indian football.
The country now has professional leagues, corporate investment, and growing fan interest. Stadiums fill up for major matches. European clubs have millions of followers in India. Yet none of that has translated into sustained success for the national team.
Jordan’s achievement shows that progress is possible for countries without huge resources. Its qualification is the result of years of planning, development, and persistence.
Let’s not forget that this World Cup will have 48 teams. Undoubtedly, this created more opportunities for Asian nations, but Jordan still had to outperform several higher-ranked teams to seize that opportunity.
Three decades ago, India stood above Jordan in the FIFA rankings. Today, Jordan is preparing to face Argentina on football’s biggest stage while India finds itself further away from the World Cup dream than ever before.
India must take a look at how Jordan transformed its football in three decades and learn from it. However, the question is whether Indian football is willing to think beyond the next tournament and start building for the next generation.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)