Jordan stun South Korea to reach first asian cup final

Jordan pulled off a shock 2-0 victory over South Korea in the Asian Cup semi-finals, on Tuesday, booking their place in the tournament’s final for the first time.

The world number 64 side was dominant from the outset against the more fancied South Koreans, ranked 26th. Jordan took the lead just after half-time through Yazan Al-Naimat, his 3rd goal of the competition, after South Korea gave the ball away cheaply. Mousa Al-Tamari then doubled Jordan’s advantage on 66 minutes with an emphatic finish after driving towards the Korean box.

South Korea and Tottenham star Son Heung-min apologised post-match for what he described as a “very disappointing, devastating result”. The Taegeuk Warriors failed to register a shot on target and looked nervous throughout according to their captain.

Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann had targeted reaching the Asian Cup final as his primary goal. For Jordan, they must now prepare for Saturday’s final against either Iran or host nation Qatar, who play their semi-final, on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old match-winner Tamari, who plays his club football for Montpellier in France, described realising his dream of starring on this stage. His colleague Al-Naimat hailed a “heroic performance” from the Jordanians.