“Football, bloody hell!” turns 25 this yr and Alex Ferguson’s quip after the 1998-99 Champions League ultimate is an apt description of how the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup have unfolded on technique to this weekend’s end.
Who would have thought Equatorial Guinea’s Emilio Nsue, who performs within the Spanish third division, may win the golden boot or that South Africa and Democratic Republic of Congo would make the semi-finals? Shift to Asia and Tajikistan, Indonesia, Syria and Palestine survived the group stage exhibiting that expanded continental competitions have helped groups bridge the hole with heavyweights.
Nothing although would match Jordan, who had by no means received a knockout recreation within the Asian Cup earlier than 2024, being a match away from lifting the trophy.
Since 1996, each workforce that beat Iraq has made the Asian Cup ultimate. Since 2007, each workforce that beat South Korea has received it. No strain however right here’s taking a look at you Jordan.
Bossing the sport
Tuesday’s semi-final at an Ahmad bin Ali Stadium filled with their supporters – there are practically 70,000 Jordanians residing in Qatar – ended with chants of ‘Mousa! Mousa!” It’s been that sort of a season for Mousa Al-Tamari who performs for Montpellier having graduated from the leagues in Cyprus and Belgium. Three objectives and an help in Ligue 1 is an efficient initiation into Europe’s prime 5. Jordan’s solely Europe-based participant has introduced that kind to Qatar.
Al-Tamari’s solo effort for the second aim encapsulated South Korea’s effete defending but additionally had the sort of nonchalance not often related to first-time semi-finalists. The help for Yazan Al-Naimat’s fantastically chipped opening aim was additionally his as Jordan, ranked 87th to South Korea’s 23, bossed from the off. They received virtually each one-on-one battle within the first half hour, mentioned South Korea coach Juergen Klinsmann.
“The X-factor was we didn’t need to give South Korea more respect than needed,” mentioned Hussein Ammouta, Jordan’s 54-year-old Moroccan coach.
They had scored twice towards South Korea within the group league, Klinsmann’s males escaping with a draw after stoppage-time a self-goal. Against a workforce that had relied on late objectives and extra-time to go deep, perception definitely was not in brief provide for Jordan. Not even with out prime scorer Hamza Al-Dardour, despatched residence after the spherical of 16 following a spat with the coach, and central defender Salem Al-Ajalin and ahead Ali Olwan who had been suspended. (Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae was suspended however given South Korea’s power in depth, it wasn’t the identical factor).
With 30% of the ball, Jordan managed seven photographs on course. South Korea had none and goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo, who as soon as denied Al-Naimat together with his face, was their finest participant. Apart from Lee Jae-sung’s header hitting the upright and a penalty enchantment overturned, South Korea regarded tentative as if ready for Premier League stars corresponding to Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan and Paris St Germain’s Lee Kang to spark into life.
Jordan pressed from the beginning, stayed compact with out the ball and had been sharp on the break. It has been the story by means of the knockout rounds for the workforce from the Hashemite kingdom which certified for the spherical of 16 as one of many 4 finest third-placed sides. Ask Iraq who had been sucker-punched by two extra-time objectives.
Roller-coaster experience
None of this regarded attainable within the lead-up to the Asian Cup, or possibly until Aymen Hussein’s purple card that left Iraq 2-1 up however with a participant quick. Before Doha, Jordan had gone 9 video games with out a win, a run that included eight defeats. They had conceded 23 objectives and scored six in these video games. But unusual issues have occurred in match soccer. Senegal (2002), Morocco (2022), North Korea (1966) are some examples from the World Cup. Qatar profitable the Asian Cup in 2019 is one other.
That mentioned, Jordan did make the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup twice, on debut in 2004 after they had been ranked fortieth on the earth and 2011. In 2004, they had been main 3-1 within the tie-breaker when it was shifted from one aim to a different after Japan coach Zico and captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto satisfied the referee that the pitch on the facet the tie-breaker had began was in poor situation. Japan received the shootout in sudden dying after Jordan squandered a 3-1 lead and went on to turn out to be champions.
Proof once more of why success in match soccer is totally different from sustained growth got here in Jordan not qualifying for the 2007 finals and being eradicated within the group stage in 2015. In between, they made the inter-continental play-off for the 2014 World Cup however misplaced the two-leg tie 0-5 to Uruguay.
Al-Wehdat and Al-Faisaly, golf equipment that dominate Jordan’s prime league having received 37 of the final 40 editions, offered many of the gamers for this squad. Jordan’s professional league has 12 groups and the subsequent tier 14. In the AFC Cup, Indian and Jordanian golf equipment have met with East Bengal beating Al-Wehdat away as soon as.
Making the ultimate, Ammouta mentioned, was the fruit of a few years however proof of how far Jordan must go lay emphasis on investing in infrastructure and listening to youth groups. “We should start planning how we will produce players who will play in the world’s biggest leagues,” he mentioned.
The Doha fairytale could possibly be the start of fine issues.
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
