Making their first appearance in an Asian Cup final, Jordan will battle the hosts Qatar on Saturday, with the latter seeking to be only the second repeat winners this century.

The Jordanians stunned South Korea 2-0 in their semi-final fixture, while Qatar held onto a 3-2 victory over Iran in a back-and-forth fixture.

Match preview

© Reuters

On paper, it appeared to be a David vs Goliath matchup for Jordan in the semi-finals, but that is not how the game transpired, as the Chivalrous had the South Koreans scrambling throughout the 90 minutes.

Hussein Ammouta had a genius tactical plan, which his players executed to perfection, failing to concede a single effort on target to a Korean side, who boast some of the most talented attacking pieces in the region and are ranked 23rd according to FIFA, 64 places above Jordan.

After claiming a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the last 16 versus Iraq (3-2), Jordan have been much tidier defensively, posting back-to-back clean sheets.

Jordan have been more effective playing transitional football as opposed to a possession-based approach, having fewer than 50% of the possession in five of their six Asian Cup fixtures, while they lost their only encounter in this competition when they had more of the ball than the opposition (1-0 defeat to Bahrain).

The Chivalrous have played in the final of two Asian tournaments this century and lost them both, with their previous victory in a competitive final occurring at the 1999 Arab Games, defeating Iraq on penalties.

Their 2-1 come-from-behind victory in a friendly versus Qatar at the beginning of January was the first time Jordan had earned a victory against them since the 2008 West Asian Football Federation Championship semi-finals (3-0).

© Reuters

On Wednesday, Qatari supporters witnessed a heart-stopping semi-final at Al Thumama Stadium with chances galore in a match that went down to the wire.

A 4th minute strike by the Iranians put the hosts behind for the first time in an Asian Cup fixture since the 2015 group stage, while they won their first-ever match at this competition in normal time after conceding the opening goal.

Their 82nd-minute strike was ultimately just enough to see off Iran, who pushed them right to the bitter end, hitting the woodwork in the dying moments of second-half stoppage time despite being a man down.

As a result, Qatar are the first host nation to reach the final of this competition since Australia in 2015 and are looking to become the eighth host country to lift the trophy, with China in 2004 being the only side to have lost the final match on home soil.

Tintin Marquez has seen his side win seven successive matches in all competitions since that defeat to Jordan last month, while scoring in 10 consecutive games.

With a win on Saturday, the Maroons would become just the fourth nation in the history of this tournament to successfully retain the title and the first since Japan in 2004.

Team News

© Reuters

We saw four changes to the Jordan lineup in their semi-final triumph as Bara' Marei, Nizar Al-Rashdan and Mohammad Abu Hasheesh replaced Salem Al-Ajalin, Rajaei Ayed and Ali Olwan.

Ihsan Haddad can collect his 75th cap with the national team on Saturday, and Mohammad Abu Zrayq will be seeking his 25th appearance.

Yazan Al-Naimat and Musa Al-Taamari netted their team-leading third goals of the competition on Tuesday, while Yazid Abulaila picked up his third clean sheet of the tournament.

Salah Zakaria is still carrying an unknown injury and is the only one likely unavailable for Qatar heading into the final on Saturday.

There were two newcomers in the Qatar starting 11 against Iran, with Yusuf Abdurisag and Homam Ahmed replacing Hassan Al-Haydos and Tarek Salman.

Jassem Gaber netted his first international goal, Almoez Ali scored his second of the tournament, while Akram Afif put home his fifth of the competition, which is one fewer Aymen Hussein for the most at this tournament.

Jordan possible starting lineup:
Abulaila; Nasib, Al-Arab, Marei; Haddad, Al-Rashdan, Al-Rawabdeh, Abu Hasheesh; Al-Taamari, Olwan; Al-Naimat

Qatar possible starting lineup:
Barsham; Ro-Ro, Mendes, Mukhtar, Waad; Gaber, Fatehi, Al-Haydos, Ahmed; Ali, Afif

We say: Jordan 0-1 Qatar

The final of a major tournament can always be unpredictable, and we expect a close game, with neither side willing to take too many risks.

Both sides have found various ways to win in this competition, but Qatar have a few more individuals capable of producing a moment of magic, and often, that is what makes the difference in these matches.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

Previews by email