Jordan pulls off surprise win over Iran in Asian Cup

Yousef Odeh
For Al-Shorfa.com
2009-11-30

Jordan's Uday al-Sayfi (L) and Iran’s Hossein Kaebi at the Asian Cup qualifier in Amman, Nov. 22. (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty Images)

AMMAN — On Nov. 22, the Jordanian national team defeated Iran in a 1-0 return game at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, in a Group Five qualifier for the Asian Cup finals, to be played in Doha in 2011. The victory revived hopes that the Jordanian national team will advance to the next round of qualifier matches.

The victory increased Jordan’s cumulative score to four points. Iran remains in first place in Group 5 with seven points. Singapore has six and Thailand is in third place with five.

Jordan had a good start to the game, and almost scored in the fourth minute. Amer Theeb received a side pass from Hassouna Sheikh that he directed to Mohammed Abd al-Halim. The Iranian goalkeeper, however, intercepted the ball.

The game continued, with Iran relying on counterattacks to reduce constant pressure from the Jordanian team. Late in the game, the Jordanian team showed more ferocity, and the determination of the Jordanian players culminated with a goal 11 minutes before the end of the match.

The top two teams in the five groups will qualify directly for the finals. These ten teams will be joined by Iraq, Saudi Arabia and South Korea (the top three teams in the last Asian Cup). Other countries in the finals will be Qatar as the host country and India, winner of the 2008 and 2010 Challenge Cup. The fifth round of qualifiers will be held on Jan. 6. Jordan will play host team Thailand, and Iran will play its host, Singapore.

Sources:

Bookmarking

Please comment on this article so that we can improve the experience of viewing this website.