Highlights of the Asian Cup final: dark horse vs host, star players-for-tat

Before the start of the Asian Cup, many people felt that Japan and South Korea had already booked their seats in the finals in advance.

After the Japanese team was eliminated, fans waited to see the summit showdown between South Korea and Iran.

But now, the traditional top five of "Japan, South Korea, Ishaao" have all bid farewell to the Asian Cup.

The final PK is about to be staged in the final, which is the dark horse Jordan and the host Qatar.

(1) The road to promotion

Let's take a look at the Jordan team first -

Group stage (1): Jordan 4-0 Malaysia

Group stage (2): Jordan 2-2 South Korea

Group stage (3): Jordan 0-1 Bahrain

1/8 finals: Jordan 3-2 Iraq

1/4 finals: Jordan 1-0 Tajikistan

Semi-finals: Jordan 2-0 South Korea

Let's take a look at the Qatar team -

Group stage (1): Qatar 3-0 Lebanon

Group stage (2): Qatar 1-0 Tajikistan

Group Stage (3): Qatar 1-0 China

1/8 finals: Qatar 2-1 Palestine

1/4 Finals: Qatar 1-1 Uzbekistan (3-2 on penalties)

Semi-finals: Qatar 3-2 Iran

Jordan scored 12 goals and conceded five goals in their first six games, with four wins, one draw and one defeat in regulation time.

Qatar scored 11 goals and conceded four goals in their first six games, with five wins, one draw and zero defeat in regulation time.

Both teams have the same goal difference, with only one goal difference between goals scored and conceded.

Qatar won 1 more game than Jordan, but considering Jordan's intention to "control points" in the final round of the group stage, the difference in this victory is negligible.

If you take into account the difference between the two teams, Jordan's record is even more convincing.

Jordan played South Korea twice, with 1 win and 1 draw. Their narrow victory over Iraq was also full of gold.

Qatar's 3-2 win over Iran was to be commended, but the rest of the games were lackluster.

Overall, there is no significant difference between the performances of the two sides in the first six games. Neither team came all the way, but neither team stumbled.

In the last 5 meetings between the two sides, Qatar has the advantage of 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. However, none of these 5 games are World Preliminaries or Asian Cup, and the reference value is not great.

The last time the two teams met in an important official match was back in the 2004 World Qualifiers, when both sides won at home.

All in all, neither recent form nor historical head-to-head meetings will provide a clear indication of how this final will be won.

The final match of the Asian Cup is difficult to predict.

(2) Star matchup

Jordan and Qatar were not favourites to win the Asian Cup, as can be seen from a few key statistics.

In terms of rankings –

Jordan is ranked 87th in the world and 13th in Asia, while Qatar is ranked 58th in the world and 6th in Asia.

In terms of value——

Jordan's team is worth 13.13 million euros, ranking 10th in Asia, and Qatar's team is worth 15.9 million euros, ranking 9th in Asia.

In terms of odds –

Before the start of the tournament, Jordan was ranked 14th in odds to win the championship and Qatar was in 6th odds to win the championship.

Let's make a heart-wrenching comparison, and you can feel even more how incredible Jordan is to reach the final.

Of the three data mentioned above, the national football team originally had two rankings ahead of Jordan, namely the world ranking and the odds of winning the championship.

The value of the national football team is lower than that of Jordan, mainly because Jordan has a Moussa Tamari worth 6 million euros.

The presence of a "star" like Moussa Tamari is the key to Jordan and Qatar meeting in the final.

Objectively speaking, the lineups of Jordan and Qatar are not at the top level in Asia.

When a team that is not a first-class team makes it to the final, it is most likely because the team has a "superstar" and has played an important role.

Jordan and Qatar in this Asian Cup are such teams.

Jordan's number one star Moussa Tamari, who has completed 3 goals and 1 assist so far in this tournament, was in the semi-finals against South Korea, and it was his pass and shot that decided the outcome of the game.

Jordan's other striker, Yazan Neimat, has three goals and two assists in this tournament and his performance in the semi-final against South Korea was equally impressive.

On the Qatari side, the duo of Afif and Ali has long been famous.

In the last Asian Cup, Ali scored 9 goals and Afif provided 10 assists, both of which are exaggerated.

After 5 years, they are still the ace of the Qatar team.

As of now, Afif has five goals and three assists in this Asian Cup, and is a popular candidate for top scorer and best player.

Although Ali's offensive efficiency is not as good as the previous one, he has also completed 2 goals and 2 assists.

In the semi-finals against Iran, Afif scored 1 goal, 1 assist, and also made 1 red card for the opponent.

Although Ali is not so versatile, he scored the winning goal in Qatar.

The overall line-up of both sides is not luxurious, and there are no famous coaches on either side.

Therefore, the key to victory or defeat is likely to lie in the performance of the stars. Specifically, it is the play of the offensive stars of both sides.

Tamari + Naimat vs Afif + Ali, which side are you more optimistic about?

(3) Who is the main character?

Qatar is the host and the defending champions.

Normally, of course, they are the ones who took the "protagonist script".

Judging from the schedule, the Qatari team did enjoy the treatment of the protagonists.

The three opponents in the group stage are not strong, and after entering the knockout round, they do not have to usher in a strong dialogue as early as South Korea, Saudi Arabia and other teams.

Suffice it to say, Qatar's road to the semi-finals is a smooth one.

In the process of reaching the final, they only met one real strong opponent, Iran.

As for the Jordan team, it was originally just a passerby.

Their group draw is actually not good, South Korea and Bahrain are not easy to play. Even if you qualify from the group, there is a high probability that you will meet a strong team in the knockout round.

But the Jordanian team relied on their own efforts and wit to win their own "protagonist script".

On the surface, Qatar are ranked higher in the world and worth more than Jordan overall, and they also have the advantage of home turf.

All these factors determine that Qatar should be the side with a better chance of winning. But today's Jordanian team cannot be evaluated by common sense.

If rankings, value, heritage and other factors could really determine the outcome of the game, Jordan would have lost to Iraq or South Korea a long time ago.

So in this final, don't look down on the Jordanian team.

At 23:00 on February 10, watch the Asian Cup final - Jordan vs Qatar!