Yazan’s injury breaks the hearts of Jordanians… and makes Al-Salami cry despite qualifying

The Arab Cup quarter-final match between Jordan and Iraq, which was held yesterday, at the Education City Stadium in the Qatari capital, Doha, witnessed great moments of anxiety that broke the hearts of “Al-Nashama” fans after the injury of Jordanian national team star Yazan Al-Naimat, in the match that ended with Jordan winning by a goal without a response, to reserve the ticket to qualify for the semi-finals to face Saudi Arabia next Monday.

Yazan Al-Naimat fell on the field in the eighth minute, trying to continue playing with his teammates, but the technical staff was eventually forced to replace him with the young player Odeh Al-Fakhouri (14). This substitution caused clear confusion among the ranks of Al-Nashama, which prompted the players to retreat towards their areas, which gave the Iraqi team the opportunity to control the midfield, without succeeding in converting that control into dangerous opportunities.

Despite this, Ali Alwan was able to score the only goal of the match after the ball touched the hand of Iraqi defender Mustafa Saadwan, so the referee awarded a penalty kick after returning to the video technology (VAR), which Alwan successfully submitted (41).

The impact of Yazan Al-Naimat’s absence continued during the second half, as possession tended to favor the “Lions of Mesopotamia,” while Ali Alwan alone was unable to relieve the defensive pressure on his team in light of the lack of organized attacks. However, the Jordanian defense and goalkeeper Yazid Abu Leila succeeded in keeping a clean sheet and snatching the ticket to the semi-finals.

Yazan Al-Naimat refused to go directly to the hospital for medical examinations following his injury, preferring to remain on the bench to support his teammates, before after the end of the match he underwent magnetic resonance imaging examinations to determine his readiness to face Saudi Arabia.

The coach of the Jordanian national team, the Moroccan Jamal Al-Salami, could not control his tears after the final whistle of the match, stressing that “qualification has no meaning after Al-Naimat’s injury,” despite the players’ attempts to calm him down. He said in the press conference: “It was a difficult match, and it became more difficult after Yazan Al-Naimat’s injury, but the rest of the players were extraordinary stars, and they played with a high fighting spirit in order to give him this victory and continue our journey in the tournament.”