Iraq and Jordan will lock horns in the Round of 16 of the Asia Cup on Monday. Iraq defeated Vietnam 3-2 on matchday three thanks to a late penalty. They went on to win Group D and move above Japan. Meanwhile, Jordan advanced as one of the top third-place teams after losing their previous game 1-0 against Bahrain.
Preview (Iraq vs. Jordan)
On matchday three, the Iraqis overcame a formidable Vietnamese team with a penalty in the 12th minute of second-half stoppage time, allowing them to complete the group stage undefeated. They have lost their first-round encounter in two of their previous three outings in the competition. This is the first time they have won their opening three games in an Asian Cup event. Their victory on matchday three also marked the first time since they defeated Kuwait 2-1 in a friendly in January 2021 that they had won a game in regular time despite giving up the initial goal.
Despite conceding four goals more than any other group winner, Jesus Casas’s team scored eight goals in the first round, which was more than enough to get by. Iraq has only lost once this century when scoring in an Asian Cup knockout match. It was in the quarterfinals of the 2000 tournament, where they lost 4-1 despite holding a 1-0 lead over Japan. They have won all five of their recent competitive matches against Jordan. The Jordanians qualified for the next round of this competition after two strong matches. This was their third consecutive year of advancement.
Now that they are in the knockout stage of the tournament, the Chivalrous Ones have an opportunity to accomplish something they have never done before. Four years ago, Jordan came closest to accomplishing it when they let Vietnam tie the game at 1-1. They wasted a 1-0 advantage and ultimately lost on penalties (4-2). This group has not prevailed in a knockout match in any competition since the West Asian Football Federation Championship. Hussein Ammouta’s team failed to score on matchday three for the first time since a 2-0 loss to Saudi Arabia in the World Cup qualifying round last November.
Team News
Iraq had nearly a completely different starting lineup for their last group match than they did for their first encounter with Japan. Ahmed Basil started in goal in place of Jalal Hassan. Bin Sulaka was the only player to remain in the starting 11. On matchday three, Ibrahim Bayesh earned his 50th cap for the national team. He came on in the second half of the match, replacing Allan Mohideen. Montagder Madjed made his first appearance since 2021.
Aymen Hussein replaced Ahmad Allee in the second half of Wednesday’s match and scored twice while missing a penalty kick, giving him the lead with five goals at the Asian Cup so far. Sulaka scored his first goal with the national team. Starting on Thursday, we saw five new faces in the Jordan 11, with Yazan Al-Arab, Ihsan Haddad, Nizar Al-Rashdan, Mahmoud Al-Mardi, and Musa Al-Taamari being replaced by Anas Bani Yaseen, Faras Shelbaieh, Fadi Awad, Muhammad Abu Hasheesh, and Youssef Abu Jalbosh.
During that match, Bara’ Marei and Ibrahim Sadeh made their debuts at this competition for Ammouta, replacing Salem Al-Ajalin and Rajaei Ayed as replacements. After keeping a clean sheet in their matchday one victory over Malaysia (4-0), Yazid Abu Laila has given up three goals in his last two outings.
Iraq 2-1 Jordan
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