The 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup drew ever nearer to its climax as the Jordanian national football team made history by clinching a remarkable 2-0 victory over South Korea in the semi-final in Qatar to reach the final for the very first time.
Defying expectations at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in al-Rayyan, the underdogs beat a much-fancied South Korea, who entered the match as favourites. Jordan is ranked 87th in the world while South Korea is the third-best team in Asia, 64 places above them.
Jordan were the underdogs - despite the teams drawing 2-2 in the group phase - but they shaded an entertaining first half in which they racked up 12 attempts at goal to South Korea's four. But the breakthrough finally came, in the 53rd minute, when striker Yazan al-Naimat netted the opening goal.
Building on that, winger Musa al-Tamari further solidified Jordan’s lead with a strike from outside the box in the 66th minute, sealing the historic win. South Korea simply could not handle the attacking duo of Naimat and Tamari.
"Actually, I was dreaming about this tournament before when I was in France," said the 26-year-old Tamari, who plays for Montpellier in France and was named man of the match. "It means everything to me to be in the final and I hope we can do it in the final," he added, having also set Naimat up for the first goal.
Jordan will face either Iran or hosts and defending champions Qatar in the final on Saturday.
