The magical Jordan team, the imperfect "God Plot"

Twenty-five years ago, Manchester United scored two goals in the final minute of the Champions League final to stage a miraculous comeback.

It was Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who scored for United at the time, in the 91st and 93rd minutes respectively.

In 2024, Jordan will repeat such a "divine drama" in the 1/8 finals of the Asian Cup.

The game-turnaround goals for Jordan were scored by Yazan Arabia and Nizar Rushdan, in the 95th and 97th minutes respectively.

While there are differences in the level and importance of these two matches, the sensation they bring is similar.

Of course, compared with the "Camp Nou miracle" 25 years ago, the "miracle" of the Asian Cup still has a little flaw.

"God Plot" Review -

Asian Cup 1/8 finals, Iraq vs Jordan.

How ups and downs is the plot of this game? Look at the timing and sequence of goals for both sides, and you will understand most of it.

In first-half stoppage time, Jordanian striker Yazan Neimat drove straight after breaking the ball in midfield and calmly picked up the ball with ease. Jordan leads 1-0!

In the 68th minute, Iraq equalized with a corner kick.

Just eight minutes later, Iraq hoisted the ball into the box again and Ayman Hussein, who had already scored five goals in the group stage, seized the opportunity to volley.

Iraq 2-1 Comeback!Hussein's personal goals reach 6!

It's already exciting at this point. If Iraq win and advance, it should also be more in line with most people's pre-match predictions.

But then, the game took another stunning turn.

In the 95th minute, Jordan's number one star Moussa Tamari shot was saved, and teammate Yazan Arabia made a supplementary shot, and the score became 2-2!

Just when everyone thought the game was going to go to extra time, Jordan scored again.

In the 97th minute, Nizar Rashdan played a delicate arc outside the penalty area, and the Jordan team overtook 3-2!

In the 101st minute of the game, Iraq still had a chance to tie the score, but Rebin Gharib kicked the ball away.

Rybin Gharib is a centre-back who scores from a triangular pass and is certainly not what he is good at.

Iraq ended up being the backdrop for the "miracle", and the Jordanian team was the real protagonist of the game.

The fly in the ointment -

The other protagonist of this game is the referee Fagani.

As mentioned earlier, there is a flaw in this "miracle", which is related to Fagani's decision.

Iraqi centre-forward Hussein received a yellow card for "excessive celebration" after scoring a goal.

Because he had already received a yellow card, two yellows turned into one red and he was sent off.

When he was sent off, there were probably not many people other than Fagani who weren't shocked.

Netizens expressed their puzzlement:

"Presumably to imitate the Jordanian celebration... The referee considered it to be provocative"

"It's okay for five people in Jordan to eat grass, and Hussein is red card for eating grass alone?"

"Five people eat grass and give five cards are easy to be played, one person eats grass and gives you cards, you are helpless"

"Jordan eats five people together to share, and Iraq eats alone, at least you have to call the referee to eat together......"

When you calm down and look at it again, it doesn't seem so difficult to understand.

After Hussein scored the goal, he first ran to the sidelines to celebrate, greeting the fans and hugging his teammates.

After a big lap, he returned to the pitch and sat on the ground, mimicking the celebration after Jordan's goal in the first half.

During that time, Fagani whistled to remind him to come back and continue playing, and his team-mates also reminded him to hurry up and end the celebration.

It turned out to be too late...

Hussein received a yellow card for "over-celebrating", but there was nothing wrong with it.

Unfortunately, Hussein had already been shown a yellow card, which led to his departure in red.

But then again, although this penalty can be reasonably explained, it still seems too special, otherwise the audience would not be surprised.

First of all, Hussein, who scored the goal, was too big-hearted, and he celebrated with a yellow card on his body.

Then, Fagani, who officiated the game, was not so big-hearted and did not consider the net side at all.

Two "ruthless people" met together, and such a result appeared.

This red card made the gold content of the Jordan team's reversal seem slightly insufficient.

But on the other hand, if there is no red card, the subsequent god plot may not exist.

This game may not be as exciting as it is now.

Jordan took the lead role script?

Before the start of this Asian Cup, the Jordanian team did not receive much attention.

They are neither favourites to win the championship like Japan and South Korea, nor are they hosts or "local tyrants" like Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Even Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia may have more to see than Jordan.

But after the group stage and the quarterfinals, Jordan has become one of the most surprising teams.

They beat Malaysia 4-0 in their opening game and drew 2-2 with South Korea in their second.

In the third round of the group stage, when everyone was staring at how the South Korean team would "act", few people cared, and the Jordan team was also one of the protagonists of "score control".

The South Korean team avoided Japan, but met Saudi Arabia, and at the same time carried huge public pressure.

The Jordanian team, which was not criticized by verbal criticism, naturally lost to Bahrain and then came to Iraq.

Japan's loss to Iraq slammed on the brakes, triggering a series of rear-end collisions between Group E and Group F teams.

Looking back now, the Jordanian team became the biggest winner in this "accident".

In the 1/8 finals, Jordan met Iraq, which was luckier than South Korea (Saudi Arabia) and Bahrain (Japan) in the same group.

Now they have passed the Iraqi hurdle and will face Tajikistan in the next round.

Objectively speaking, Jordan has great hopes of advancing to the top four.

If Jordan does make it to the top four, and their opponent is South Korea, they still have the psychological advantage of almost beating their opponent.

This promotion route is simply more advantageous than the host Qatar.

Qatar's route to qualification is relatively easy, and we can all understand that they are the hosts.

What about the Jordanian team?

Originally, in the eyes of many people, they came to the Asian Cup to play tricks. But they used their own efforts and wit to get to their current position step by step and grabbed the "protagonist script".

What kind of achievements can the "protagonist Jordan" achieve in the end? Welcome to leave a message to discuss.