For the first time in the history of the Asian Cup, there was no traditional "big 5" (Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Australia) team in the final. Bringing the highlight of the match was the "fairy tale" of Jordan, the team ranked 87th in the world.
Jordan qualified for the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup by finishing third in one of the four best groups. However, viewers who have watched Hussein Amuta and his team's performances should not be surprised by the results they achieved.
In the group stage, an own goal in stoppage time allowed Jordan to miss out on three points and draw with South Korea. But in the semi-finals, they didn't make similar mistakes and beat their opponents completely.
It is emphasized that Jordan's defeat of South Korea came against the backdrop of veteran Dardur's expulsion from the team. The goalscorer made more than 100 appearances for his country before he missed the Asian Cup due to a conflict with his manager. In addition, the other two pillars of the team, midfielder Agalin and goalscorer Orwan, have been suspended due to the accumulation of red and yellow cards.
Although possession was only 30%, this statistic does not mean that Jordan is inferior to Jordan. They created more chances and shot more on target than their opponents. Meanwhile, apart from Lee Jae-sung's shot hitting the post, South Korea didn't pose much of a threat.
As ranked 23rd in the world and 3rd in Asia, the Tigers were eliminated by a team that had never tasted the semi-finals of the Asian Cup before. Son Heung-min cried again, but this time it was different from the previous two times, it was not a tear of happiness.
Jordan's trip to the Asian Cup is the most interesting story, and not only because of the two matches against South Korea. Fans and ** both mentioned the team's slump in the final round of the group, which caused them to drop to third place in the group, just avoiding Japan.
The way Jordan qualified for the knockout rounds of this Asian Cup was also full of drama. The Iraqi team was sent off for celebrating too long after scoring a goal, which eventually allowed Jordan to complete the comeback in stoppage time. This should be one of the best matches of the tournament.
In the six months leading up to the Asian Cup, they went nine games without a win, including eight defeats. They have conceded 23 goals and scored just six goals in that period. The Hindustan Times described the team as "hopeless".
In recent years, the development of football in Jordan may be similar to that of Vietnam. They only have two divisions of leagues with a total of 26 teams. In the FIFA rankings, the current 87th is their highest ranking since 2017, after hovering outside the 90th for many years.
Prior to this year, Jordan had never won in the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup. Five years ago, they were defeated by Vietnam. In the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup, Deng Van Lin's save and Bui Jin Yong's goal allowed Vietnam to eliminate Jordan on penalties.
Back at this Asian Cup, Jordan's performance is much better than Vietnam's performance in the last edition. They only need a victory to put a perfect end to their fairy tale.
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