“A kick stranger than fiction.” Luck deprives Jordan of the 23-year-old Asian Cup semi-finals (video)

The Jordanian Olympic team bid farewell to the AFC U-23 Cup, after losing to its Japanese counterpart, 2-4, on penalties, following an exciting 1-1 draw in regular and extra time, in the quarter-finals of the tournament currently being held in Saudi Arabia, in a painful exit that came despite the strong performance and the match extending until its final moments.

The “Nashama” were close to resolving the confrontation in its original time, after Ali Al-Azaizeh opened the scoring for the Jordanian team in the 30th minute, putting Japan under great pressure. However, luck was not on Jordan’s side in the second half, when the Japanese team equalized in the 51st minute, following a shot from Shusuke Furuya, which Ali Hajbi accidentally deflected into the net.

The tie continued for 120 minutes, amid great competition and clear parity between the two teams, so the two sides resorted to penalty kicks, which smiled for Japan, after its players Rion Ichihira, Yutaka Michiyuki, Ryuki Sato and Tokumo Kawawe scored, while Saleh Freij and Odeh Al Fakhouri succeeded in scoring for Jordan, while Muhammad Taha and Muhammad Al Shatti were not successful.

The Jordanian national team’s exit came with a taste of regret, after its players presented a distinguished level and high fighting spirit, leaving the tournament under the leadership of its Moroccan coach, Omar Najhi, amid praise for the general performance despite the harshness of the end with penalty kicks, which did not do justice to the ambitions of “Al-Nashama”, especially since the Jordanian goalkeeper was able to save during a Japanese penalty shootout kick, but during his celebration the ball was spinning in the sky and returned to hit the ground and head to the net, amid the astonishment of the observers, what was confirmed that Jordan was not lucky in the match.

With this victory, the Japanese team qualified for the semi-finals, where it continues its journey in the tournament, at a time when all eyes are on the other semi-final matches, which witness the UAE meeting with Vietnam, Uzbekistan with China, and Australia against South Korea.