World Cup: Jordan Watch Party Leaves One Dead, Eight Injured After Crush

He joined in April 2024, having previously worked at VAVEL as Deputy Editor-in-Chief, where he produced a variety of content, including pieces from press conferences and games. He also won an award for his role as lead editor for the Women's Football section of the online newspaper.

Covering football all across Europe, he has worked at stadiums such as Anfield, Old Trafford, and Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park, as well as having reported at both the 2023 men's and women's Champions League finals in Eindhoven and Istanbul.

He is infatuated with every aspect of football, but likes other sports as well, being an avid coffee-desperate Buffalo Bills supporter from across the pond and a darts' newbie. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account Police have issued a statement after a crowd crush at a World Cup watch party left one person dead and eight others injured on Monday night.

The incident took place during Jordan's 2-1 loss to Algeria, a result that saw the Middle Eastern nation bow out of the competition following their 3-1 defeat to Austria a week earlier.

With their final group-stage match coming against Argentina - the reigning world champions, who now boast the competition's all-time leading goalscorer after Lionel Messi scored five goals in his first two outings this summer - the FIFA-ranked No. 64 nation needed a positive result this week to keep their hopes alive.

Thousands had gathered at Hashemite Square, next to the Roman Theatre in central Amman, the country's capital, to watch the national team's second match of the tournament on giant screens, hoping they could produce a result in their World Cup debut.

Sadly, the venue became overcrowded, as per the Guardian, leading to a crowd crush. The open-air site can host around 6,000 people but, according to a ministerial source, 15,000 turned up. A spokesperson for Jordan's public safety directorate said:

"Nine people were taken to hospital at dawn on Tuesday after being injured in a crowd movement in Hashemite Square. One of the injured died shortly after being admitted."

The others undergoing treatment have various injuries and their conditions are described as being from stable to moderate, with no life-threatening injuries.

Social media snippets from around the world of sport.

Jordan have dispatched teams with greater pedigree in the past few years to reach both the Asian and Arab Cup finals. But allowing opponents to dictate possession ultimately proved counterproductive when taking on sides with far more experience overseas than themselves, with both Austria and Algeria finding victory against them pretty smooth-sailing.

Still, the fact they made it this far means they will head home as heroes, regardless of what happens against Argentina next week. What's more, they still managed to score goals in each of their defeats, meaning they never went out without a fight, while leaving the dressing room in pristine condition on both occasions earnt them a reputation as respected opponents in the USA.