Redknapp defends Jordan players after World Cup exit

Published on: 30 March 2016

Sydney: Jordan coach Harry Redknapp believes his players gave all they had despite having their hopes of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup ended by a 5-1 loss to Australia on Tuesday evening.

The Jordanians were completely outclassed by Australia at the Sydney Football Stadium and found themselves three goals down at the break, courtesy of Tim Cahill’s brace and a Aaron Mooy strike.

Further goals by Tom Rogic and Massimo Luongo then effectively ended the contest, before Abdallah Deeb scored with a fine effort to help the visitors restore some pride.

Finishing second in Group B of the joint-qualifiers, Jordan missed out on the final round of World Cup qualifying as they were not one of the four best runners-up, and will now have to be content with a place in the third stage of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.

However, Redknapp refused to be overly critical of his charges and was gracious in defeat, claiming they had simply lost to a better side.

“The players did their best,” he said, according to Daily Mail.

“We all did our best but what can you do? I’ve been here five or six days, what can you do?

“The players are the players, I can’t suddenly bring in Ronaldo. It is what it is.

“They tried their best but were beaten by a better team.

“If Australia played Spain next week, they’d probably get beat by four or five because that’s the way it is, Spain have better players.”

It is uncertain if Redknapp will be at the helm when the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers kick off next March.

The former Tottenham manager initially agreed to take charge of Jordan for the past two matches but, in the past few days, has refused to rule out extending his stay under the right circumstances.

Source: the-afc.com

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