Jordan advances to the Asian Cup quarterfinals after late goals seal 3-2 comeback win against Iraq

Mon, Jan 29, 2024
Soccer News (AP)

AL-RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) - Jordan scored two goals in stoppage time to advance to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup on Monday after a 3-2 comeback win against 10-man Iraq.

Yazan Al Arab leveled the game at Khalifa International Stadium in the fifth minute of added time and Nizar Al Rashdan netted the winner two minutes later.

The round-of-16 match was turned on its head when Aymen Hussein was shown a second yellow card and sent off for excessive celebrations after putting Iraq 2-1 ahead.

The 2007 champion couldn't hold on to its lead and eventually folded under the pressure as Jordan mounted a late fightback.

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Iraq had beaten pre-tournament favorite Japan and advanced to the knockout stage as winner of Group D. And in Hussein, it had the most prolific striker in the competition with five goals in the group stage.

While Hussein added to that total, his red card proved pivotal to Iraq's elimination.

Jordan advanced as one of the best third-placed teams and took the lead against Iraq in the first minute of first-half stoppage time through Yazan Al Naimat.

Suad Natiq equalized for Iraq with a header in the 68th and Hussein fired low in the 76th to put his team ahead. His celebrations, however, earned him that crucial second booking.

Jordan took advantage as Al Arab scored from a rebound and Al Rashdan struck the winner from outside of the box.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer