Asian Cup: Jordan’s national team continues to write history against South Korea
The Jordanian national team wants to continue writing history in the Asian Football Cup currently being held in Qatar, when it meets South Korea on Tuesday, in the semi-finals at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium.
Jordan had achieved a precedent by reaching the golden square for the first time by defeating Tajikistan by a single goal, but it does not want to stop at this point.
South Korean players during their preparations to face Jordan (AFP)
This was confirmed by his Moroccan coach, Hussein Amouta: “Our first goal was to reach the quarter-finals, as the Jordanian team had previously reached this stage, and as the team’s journey continued in each stage, the players began to gain more confidence and more harmony appeared in the group, and we aspire for more.” ».
He continued: “We will see in the next match if we can reach the final match of the tournament. We have to focus on every step we take, and we must always benefit from mistakes and prepare all players fully for the matches, and we have the determination and insistence to continue on the right path.”
Yazid Abu Laila, “Al-Nashama” goalkeeper, during training (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Al-Nashama will be absent from defender Salem Al-Ajalin and striker Ali Alwan, due to the accumulation of warnings, while midfielder Nizar Al-Rashdan, who missed the Tajikistan match in the 16th final, returns to the starting lineup.
Amouta is betting on the trio consisting of Qatari Al-Ahly striker Yazan Al-Naimat, who scored two goals for Al-Nashama and contributed to creating two goals, along with Moussa Al-Taamari, the French Montpellier winger who scored two goals, and Mahmoud Mardi, both of whom have scored two goals in the tournament so far as well.
As for Jordanian centre-back Yazan Al-Arab, he had a similar statement, saying: “We are proud of this historic achievement of reaching the semi-finals for the first time. What was achieved did not come out of nowhere, but rather came after very hard collective work, and we hope to continue our journey successfully.”
He added: “The technical staff, led by coach Hussein Amouta, made great efforts in preparing the team, and we are continuing this wonderful adventure, and our ambitions are beginning to grow even more in order to achieve an unprecedented achievement for Jordanian football.”
As for Abdullah Nassib, who contributed to the goal of reaching the semi-finals, he said: “Our eyes are fixed on the cup. “What the Jordanian team achieved in this tournament confirms that nothing is impossible.”
South Korea coach Jurgen Klinsmann supervises the training session (Reuters)
The two teams met in the group stage of this edition in a match that saw Jordan lead 2-1 until stoppage time, before the latter’s defender Yazan Al-Arab scored an own goal that gave South Korea a draw.
On the other hand, Korea came close to ending a title drought that had lasted since the 1960 edition, when it won the title for the second time in a row, after its dramatic victory over Australia 2-1, after snatching a tie in stoppage time to impose extra time during which it scored the winning goal by its captain Heung-min. Son, the English star of Tottenham.
Son confirmed his determination to win the long-awaited continental title by saying: “There are 4 teams remaining here in Doha, and of these four teams only one will lift the championship cup, and I want to fight for this cup.”
He continued: “My goal in this tournament and our goal as a team is to win the title, and this is all we were thinking about, and I am happy that we are close to achieving our ambition.”
Regarding the difficulty of his team’s task after it played extra time twice in the qualifying rounds against Saudi Arabia and then Australia, he said: “It is the first time in my career that I have played 120 minutes in two matches in a row. It’s not easy at all, but the spirit shown by the players keeps us together. We are together, and I can say with confidence that our strength lies in the spirit of one team.”
He explained: “It depends on mental focus. “Fatigue or exhaustion, there should be no excuses. We will continue to win the championship title and bring it back to our country.”
The South Korean national team will miss Bayern Munich’s German defenseman, Kim Min-jae, due to the accumulation of warnings.
The last time South Korea reached the final was in the 2015 Australian edition, and lost to the host country 1-2, after extra time in a match in which Son participated and scored his country’s goal in stoppage time as well.
2024-02-06 11:47:20
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