MAGIC JORDAN
West Asian side stun favourites South Korea to march into Asian Cup final
- Goals from Yazan al Naimat and Mousa al Tamari secured Jordan a sensational 2-0 win over South Korea as the West Asian side advanced to the Asian Cup final at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday.
A dominant performance from start to finish saw Jordan upstage a South Korea Republic side who simply couldn’t match the pace and determination of their opponents, who booked a spot in the AFC Asian Cup final for the first time in history.
Jordan didn’t waste time in taking the game to Korea, with their fast start almost catching the East Asian side by surprise, Al Naimat’s low strike in the fourth minute from just inside the area forcing goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo into a diving save.
The West Asian side looked dangerous every time they transitioned into attack with Al Tamari waltzing his way past three defenders before setting up Noor al Rawabdeh, who brought the best out of Jo. South Korea slowly grew into the match, with Son Heung-min’s effort in the
19th minute ruled out for offside while Lee Kang-in failed to find the target from inside the box in the 24th minute.
Jordan, however, looked menacing each time they ventured forward but wasted a flurry of chances, with Al Naimat missing
from inside the area before pulling his effort just wide in the 27th minute, while Al Tamari blazed his shot over the bar from just above the box. The West Asian side’s positive play finally delivered dividends in the 53rd minute when Al Tamari pounced
on a poor back pass from Jung Seung-hyunto to send a welltimed pass to Al Naimat, who lobbed the ball over the advancing Jo for the opening goal.
Korea sent on Cho Gue-sung but the No 9 failed to find the target at the hour mark when he sent his headed attempt off Kang-in’s corner over the bar.
That was to prove costly as Jordan struck again six minutes later, Al Tamari brilliantly cutting inside from just above the area before unleashing a low drive past a despairing Cho.