Bay Area fans celebrate Jordan's first appearance in World Cup

Fans of Algeria’s soccer team celebrate a victory over Jordan in the concourses of Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Monday, June 22, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)

A live performance of Jordan’s national anthem, smells of freshly baked baklava, and hundreds of people wrapped in red and white checkered scarves filled the San Jose Convention Center with Jordanian pride.

Fans of Jordan’s World Cup team celebrated the country’s first ever appearance in the global tournament and will see if they can pick up their first win against Algeria Monday night at Levi’s Stadium.

Jordanian Fan Association Board Member Rafat Alamawi organized convoys to bring fans from Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“There is people from the North, there's people from the South, there's people from the desert, people with different school of thought, different way of living," Alamawi said. "And now they're coming to support one thing and support the country and support the team.”

Ohio resident Mahdi Zeghloul said he made a two-day road trip to attend the event and the game.

“We're going to go to the next level, so we're going celebrate one more time," Zeghloul said. "And next week, we're gonna go to Dallas to watch Jordan against Argentina.”

Jad Haddadin traveled from Alberta, Canada.

“It's a must-win game," Haddadin said. "We have Messi coming at us.”

While the odds are steep, Jordan fans are determined to see their team advance and to enjoy themselves.

Listen to the story at KQED: https://omny.fm/shows/kqed-segmented-audio/kqed-newscast-3f96aebe-f122-4123-b6f8-40d6b6d5499a