Moroccan coach Houcine Ammouta has achieved an extraordinary feat with the Jordanian soccer team, leading them to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar for the third time in the country’s history, as a result of a 3-2 come-from-behind victory against Iraq.
Jordan ended the first half 1-0 in its favor thanks to striker Yazan Al-Naimat’s goal in the last minute of extra time.
As for the second half, things got complicated for the Jordanians, as the Iraqis managed to equalize– thanks to Saad Natiq–in the 68th minute.
Not only that, but the Lions of Mesopotamia added a second goal at a critical moment, with around 15 minutes of normal time remaining. This time, the goal was scored by Aymen Hussein. But Hussein received a second yellow card after his celebration, resulting in a red.
The Jordanians were not relieved until the 95th minute, when Yazan Abu Arab scored. Everyone thought the match was heading for extra time, had it not been for the decisive pass from second-stringer Saleh Rateb–a substitution which energized the Jordanian team courtesy of Ammouta–to Nizar Al-Rashdan, who scored the goal of sudden death in the 97th minute.
Houcine Ammouta has undoubtedly achieved a great feat with Jordan, which is his first experience with coaching a national team. He will now face Tajikistan in the quarterfinals.