[Live] Jordan vs Qatar

Defending champions Qatar have a chance to defend their title at the Asian Cup when they face Jordan, who are making their first appearance in the final. Kick-off is at 10 PM.

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Qatar are the reigning Asian Cup champions, while Jordan are making their first appearance in the final. Four years ago, in the most recent tournament, Jordan lost to Vietnam in the round of 16. This year, they made history with a "fairy tale" journey.

Jordan only advanced from the group stage thanks to a "lucky draw" for the best third-placed teams. However, coach Hussein Ammouta's team surprised the audience with one unexpected result after another in the knockout matches. They came from behind to beat Iraq 3-2 with two last-minute goals in the round of 16, overcame the "dark horse" Tajikistan 1-0 in the quarter-finals, and convincingly defeated South Korea 2-0 in the semi-finals.

Jordanian players celebrate the opening goal in their semi-final match against South Korea on February 6. Photo: Yonhap — Jordanian players celebrate the opening goal in their semi-final match against South Korea on February 6. Photo: *Yonhap*

Conversely, Qatar topped their group with three wins out of three matches. However, coach Marquez Lopez's team showed inconsistent form in the knockout rounds. They beat Palestine 2-1 in the round of 16, drew 1-1 with Uzbekistan and won 3-2 on penalties in the quarter-finals, and were somewhat fortunate to beat Iran 3-2 in the semi-finals.

Jordan is one of the three highest-scoring teams in the tournament. Along with Iran and Japan, they have scored 12 goals. Qatar is not far behind these three teams, with 11 goals. In terms of goals conceded, the host team has only let in four goals, while Jordan has only conceded five.

This is the first time Jordan has faced Qatar in the history of the Asian Cup. Prior to this year's tournament, Jordan had only participated in the Asian Cup finals four times, with their best performance being reaching the quarter-finals (2004, 2011).

Jordan and Qatar have met a total of 24 times in the past, including two times in Asian Cup qualifiers. In 1984, Jordan lost to Qatar 0-2 at home. In 2000, Jordan drew 2-2 with Qatar in Doha. The head-to-head record between the two teams favors Qatar, who have won 50% of the matches (12 out of 24). Jordan has only won against Qatar 7 times, and the two teams have drawn the remaining 5 matches.

Jordan has reason to be confident heading into tonight's final, having defeated Qatar just before the 2023 Asian Cup. In a friendly match on January 5th in Doha, Qatar lost to Jordan 1-2. In that game, Afif opened the scoring for Qatar in the 15th minute, but Al-Naimat and Ali Olwan scored early in the second half to give Jordan a convincing victory. Currently, both Afif and Al-Naimat are prominent stars at the 2023 Asian Cup.

Vy Anh

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