Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar witnessed history being scripted as Jordan pulled off a major upset with a 2-0 win over South Korea and entered the final of the Asian Cup for the first time. For Jordan, Yazan al-Naimat and Musa al-Taamari were the scorers.
This win absolutely means the world to Jordan because they ranked 87th in the world and South Korea is the third-best team in Asia.
Al-Naimat had also scored in the 2-2 draw when the two teams met in the group stage. The 24-year-old once again weaved his magic and tormented the Korean defenders with his skillful footwork while Taamari’s tireless running also paid dividends.
For Jordan, Al-Naimat had the best opportunity to put his team first in a goalless first half. He brushed aside three defenders in the box, however, his shot found the Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo, who made a reflex save.
In Jordan’s half, Lee Jae-sung nearly put his team forward with a goal off a Son Heung-min cross. But the midfielder’s header hit the woodwork, giving Jordan a reprieve.
Jordan finally found the breakthrough in the form of Al-Naimat’s third goal of the tournament, who chipped the ball over the keeper, breaking the deadlock.
Taamari too picked his moment and made a solo run past a static defence and curled the ball past the keeper to send Jordan’s fans among the 42,850 in the arena into raptures.
Jordan will now face either Iran or hosts and defending champions Qatar in the final.
“The players delivered a heroic performance. The X-factor was we didn’t need to give South Korea more respect than needed,” Jordan’s Moroccan coach Hussein Ammouta said.
“Based on their record in their last few games, they conceded goals and we knew it was possible to score against them, that was the turning point.”
Klinsmann accepted responsibility for South Korea’s exit: “Obviously we’re disappointed. We had the big goal of playing in the final but Jordan deserves this win, they deserve to play in the final. They played more aggressively, they won almost every one-v-one battle and they got better.”
“I’m not planning to do anything, I will analyse this tournament, go back to Korea with the team and talk with the federation about what was good and not so good in the tournament.”
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