Rahul Giri in Doha
Spirited Jordan held South Korea, the two-time champions, to a 2-2 draw in what was another upset in the AFC Asian Cup 2023. Son Heung-min opened his Asian Cup 2023 account with a penalty kick, earned through a VAR review, breaking the deadlock in the sixth minute. However, Jordan’s gritty performance almost allowed them to pull off a giant-killing, and Korea were indebted to an own goal in stoppage time for a share of the points against a team ranked 87th in the world.
Jordan displayed courage, making continuous inroads into Korea’s backline. They nearly found an equaliser in the 21st minute, but Musa Al-Taamari’s left-footed shot from the right side of the box was kept out by Korea’s goalkeeper, Jo Hyeon-woo.
Roaring back into the game with quick counterattacks, Jordan earned much-deserved parity in the 37th minute. Mahmoud Al-Mardi’s curling corner forced Korean Defender Park Yong-woo to head into his own net. Before half-time, in the sixth minute that had been added on, Jordan’s fans were on their feet again when Yazan Al-Naimat’s right-footed long-range shot flew into the net. Al-Naimat plays his club football for Al-Ahli in Qatar, and could hardly have struck it any sweeter.
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Jordan’s coach, Hussein Ammouta, switched to a five-man defence to make life difficult for Son and his team. Despite the Taeguk Warriors managing to penetrate Jordan’s box, the underdogs weathered the Korean storm until the dying minutes. Ultimately, Korea breached Jordan’s defence as Son’s driven cross from the left flank found Hwang In-beom inside the box. His left-footer wasn’t struck cleanly, but the shot deflected off Yazan Al-Arab, one of several Jordanian defenders who had put in heroic shifts, to find the back of the net.
With this result, Jordan moved to the top of Group E, with Korea finding themselves in second spot on goal difference. Jurgen Klinsmann’s team now need to win against Malaysia in their last group-stage fixture to secure their tickets to the next round. Jordan will take on Bahrain.
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