{"id":4200,"date":"2024-02-07T09:59:08","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T23:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=4200"},"modified":"2026-09-25T14:12:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T04:42:28","slug":"jordan-reach-the-promised-land-after-decades-of-near-misses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/jordan-reach-the-promised-land-after-decades-of-near-misses\/","title":{"rendered":"Jordan reach the promised land after decades of near-misses"},"content":{"rendered":"

As his name echoed around the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, there was no doubting who Jordanian fans felt deserved the accolades as their nation overcame expectations to progress to the AFC Asian Cup final for the first time.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Mousa! Mousa! Mousa!\u2019 rang the cries in salute of Montpellier forward Mousa Al-Taamari, the golden boy of his nation\u2019s game, as he held the ball in the corner, determined to run down the clock on the greatest night ever for Jordanian football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an assist for Yazan Al-Naimat\u2019s opener and then a fine individual effort of his own in the 2-0 win, the 26-year-old had been instrumental in his team\u2019s demolition of a Korea Republic side many expected to march to victory on Tuesday, on their way to finally breaking their 64-year Asian Cup hoodoo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, it is the Hashemite Kingdom that will be preparing for Saturday\u2019s decider at Lusail Stadium against either Qatar or Iran, delivering on the sporadic promise that has been evident in the past, only for the nation to suffer heartbreaking defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was never more the case than in 2004, when China hosted the Asian Cup and Japan were the defending champions. Jordan were appearing at the Asian Cup finals for the first time, making their debut when the competition still featured 16 nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coached by legendary Egyptian Mahmoud El Ghoary \u2013 who qualified his home nation for the FIFA World Cup in Italy in 1990 \u2013 a squad including a young Amer Shaafi in goal, alongside Badran Shakran and Amer Deeb advanced to the knockout rounds at the very first attempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Draws with South Korea and the United Arab Emirates bookended a 2-0 win over Kuwait to ensure Jordan\u2019s progress and set up a quarter-final meeting with defending champions Japan in Chongqing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jordan\u2019s progress to the last eight on their debut appearance was notable in itself, but that quarter-final has gone down in Asian Cup folklore for the circumstances surrounding the penalty shoot-out required to separate the teams after the game ended in a 1-1 draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Missed spot-kicks from Shunsuke Nakamura and Alex Santos meant Japan trailed 2-0 after the opening two rounds of penalties, prompting captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto and coach Zico to complain to referee Subkhiddin Mohd Saleh over the state of the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nakamura and Santos, both argued, had their ability to strike the ball affected by loose turf as they planted their standing foot into the ground. As a result, the Japan captain asked the Malaysian referee to consider switching the penalties to the other end of the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After some consideration, Subkhiddin \u2013 in a highly unusual move \u2013 agreed to the request and, although the Jordanians took a 3-1 advantage into the fourth round of penalties, El Ghoary\u2019s players capitulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next four penalties were missed as the shoot-out went into sudden-death and Japan eventually prevailed, not only winning the quarter-final but ultimately going on to lift the title for the third time in four tournaments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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