It was a fitting final to a month of football that commenced with 24 teams and featured a series of thrilling matches.
The final match also serves as a redemption for Qatar after their disappointing performance at the World Cup, where they lost all three games, marking the worst record for any host nation in the tournament’s history.
Played in front of 86,492 spectators at Lusail Stadium, the venue of the World Cup final 14 months prior, Jordan found themselves in their inaugural Asian Cup final, competing in the most significant match in their football history.
Despite being ranked 29 places below their opponents at 87th in FIFA’s world rankings, Jordan conceded the lead midway through the first half when forward Afif calmly converted a penalty, marking his sixth goal of the tournament.
Qatar asserted their dominance and rightfully earned their halftime lead, but Jordan mounted a strong comeback to equalise through Yazan Al-Naimat’s clever finish.
However, their moment of parity was short-lived, lasting only six minutes, as Afif once again found the back of the net from the penalty spot after VAR intervention prompted the referee to review the incident on his pitch-side monitor.
This time, Jordan couldn’t muster another comeback, and Afif completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in injury time, once again aided by VAR. As the final whistle blew, jubilant Qatari substitutes rushed from the bench to hoist Afif in the air, celebrating their triumphant victory.