- Jordan produced a miraculous comeback to beat Iraq 3-2 and reach the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup
- Jordan, who have previously reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup twice, will face Tajikistan on February 2
On Monday, Jordan produced a miraculous comeback to beat Iraq 3-2 and reach the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup during the Iraq vs Jordan match. Jordan scored two goals deep in injury time to come from behind in a pulsating round of 16 contest played at Khalifa International Stadium.
Iraq thought they they had done enough when they turned the game around in the 76th minute to take a 2-1 lead after initially conceding on the stroke of halftime. Aymen Hussein, who scored Iraq’s second goal, was sent off after being shown a yellow card, presumably for his celebration.
Iraq vs Jordan. Photo/ Malay Mail.
Being one-man down, Iraq failed to hold the pressure from Jordan and eventually conceded in the 95th and 97th minutes. Jordan’s stunning comeback was started by Yazan Al-Arab, who scored a header before before Nizar Al-Rashdan broke the heart of Iraqis with a well taken shot from the edge of the box.
Speaking after the Iraq vs Jordan match, Jordan coach Hussein Ammouta told reporters that his side has to maintain the strong mentality they showed against Iraq so they can go further in the tournament.
Jordan, who have previously reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup twice, will face Tajikistan on February 2. Tajikistan shocked the United Arab Emirates on Sunday with a 5-3 victory from penalty shootouts to reach the quarters.
Iraq Vs Jordan
Facing Jordan in the round of 16, Iraq made nine changes to the team that beat Vietnam 3-2 on their final group stage fixture. Ten of the players who head coach Jesus Casas included in the starting eleven against Jordan featured in the memorable 2-1 win over Japan.
Iraq, who were the favourites, showed their authority barely 100 seconds into the match, winning a corner. However, Ali Jasim’s corner was just too high for Ahmad Al Hajjaj.
Jordan then started finding their way into the match and came close to scoring in the eleventh minute but Yazan Al Naimat’s effort sailed over the bar. Jordan continued to attack and Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan was forced to come outside the box to deny Yazan Al Naimat before making a brilliant save to stop another Jordan attack from becoming a goal.
Jordan continued to knock on Iraq’s goal, with Hassan being forced to show his goalkeeping skills to stop Mousa Tamari from finding the back of the net.
Jordan beat Iraq 3-2. Photo/ AFC.
As the first half drew to an end, Jordan’s persistence finally paid off in the 45th minute when Al Naimat eventually beat Hassan to score the first goal of the match. He celebrated the goal with his team mates by sitting on the turf and pretending to eat a meal.
Iraq came back rejuvenated after the break and took control of the match. However, they had to wait until the 68th minute before finding the equalizer. It was Suad Natiq who rose highest in the box to level the scores. Eight minutes later, Hussein gave Iraq the lead with a low shot after a poor clearance that led to the ball landing on his path inside the box.
Hussein performed the same celebration as Jordan player Al Naimat after scoring. Surprisingly, he was shown a second yellow, which led to him being sent off because he had earlier picked a yellow card.
Iraq did well to contain Jordan’s pressure despite being one man-down. However, they collapsed in stoppage time, allowing Jordan to score two goals and turn the game around.
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