Jordan made history on Tuesday by defeating South Korea 2-0 to advance to the Asian Cup final, up against one of the pre-tournament favourites, check out their football team ranking
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s chances of adding another significant prize to his collection were dashed at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in the second half by goals from Yazan Al Naimat and Mousa Tamari, upsetting the odds.
What is the FIFA world ranking of the Jordan football team as it reaches the AFC Asian Cup 2023-2024 final
Jordan 🇯🇴scores 1-0 against Korea 🇰🇷 and celebrates drinking tea 🫖😄 pic.twitter.com/qNlfi2FuNd
— Svetlana (@laneksa7) February 6, 2024
Jodan reaches its first-ever Asian Cup final
Jordan made it to the round of 16 as one of the best third-place teams in the group stage after finishing behind South Korea in Group E. However, they always found the correct answers and dominated the semifinals under Moroccan coach Ammouta. The country is ranked 87th in the world as of now.
A FIFA ranking of 87.
Jordan have beaten South Korea to reach their FIRST-EVER International tournament final ✨
𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦. 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗘 📚 pic.twitter.com/doHmnJ01O1
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 6, 2024
South Korea staged late comebacks against Saudi Arabia and Australia in the quarterfinals and round of 16, respectively. It needed an own goal in stoppage time to clinch a draw with Jordan in the group stage. However, it never seemed likely that this would happen again.
Jordan was competing in the semifinals for the first time, while the two-time champion was trying to win its first Asian Cup since 1960.
Jordan 2-0 South Korea
The finest chance for Jordan to score came in the goalless first half when Al-Naimat skipped past three players in the box, but goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo made a reaction save. On the opposite side, Son Heung-min fired a cross into the box, and Lee Jae-sung almost put South Korea ahead, but the midfielder’s header struck the post, giving Jordan a freelife.
The busiest player on the field, Al-Taamari, chose his opportunity to shine when he broke free from a static defence and curled his shot past the goalkeeper to send the 42,850 spectators in the arena into raptures.
As South Korea’s coach Jürgen Klinsmann stood stone-faced on the touchline, watching his team lose the competition without a single attempt on goal in the semi-final, Jordan’s press and slick attacks presented him with no solution.
Despite South Korea’s tendency to score goals late in the competition, Jordan held them off and secured their spot in the final, where they will take on Iran or the hosts and reigning winners, Qatar.
But Jordan eventually broke through when Al-Taamari, in midfield, intercepted a careless back pass and found Al-Naimat with a pass that split the defence, allowing the striker to chip the ball over the keeper and score his third goal in the competition.
Jordan will play Iran or the reigning champion, Qatar, this weekend. This Wednesday is their semifinal.