DOHA: Jordan upset South Korea 2-0 in their Asian Cup semi-final on Tuesday at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium where Yazan Al-Naimat and Musa Al-Taamari scored second-half goals to guide the Middle Eastern country into the final for the first time.

After a goalless first half, Jordan found the breakthrough in the 53rd minute when Al-Taamari intercepted a poor back pass in midfield and released Al-Naimat, who chipped the ball over the goalkeeper to score his third goal of the tournament.

Al-Taamari then got in on the act to double their lead with a sensational solo run past a static South Korean defence, curling his effort past the hand of Jo Hyeon-Woo to send Jordan’s fans among the 42,850 in the arena into raptures.

South Korea had made a habit of scoring late goals in the tournament but there was no comeback this time as Jordan kept them at bay to book their place in the final, where they will face either Iran or hosts and defending champions Qatar.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2024