DOHA – Jordan’s fairy-tale run at the Asian Cup continued as they reached their first final after seeing off one of the pre-tournament favourites South Korea 2-0 at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on Feb 6.

Against a side boasting the likes of Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min and Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in, it was the 87th-ranked Jordanians who were good value for their win.

Yazan Al-Naimat opened the scoring on 53 minutes, dinking the ball over goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo after being put through by Mousa Al-Tamari. Montpellier’s Al-Tamari went from provider to finisher for the second goal 13 minutes later, when he picked up the ball in his own half, went on a run before finding the net from outside the box.

Meanwhile, ahead of the second semi-final on Feb 7, Iran defender Saeid Ezatolahi has questioned the appointment of a Kuwaiti referee for their Asian Cup semi-final against hosts and holders Qatar.

Ahmed Al-Ali is reportedly set to take charge of the game in Doha and Ezatolahi said it was “a little bit surprising”.

“We are wondering how it’s possible that they put an Arabic guy in charge of the game,” Ezatolahi, who plays for Danish club Vejle, said on Feb 6. “But we are Iran, we are a very big team, we have good players, we are professional.”

The Asian Football Confederation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran are trying to win the Asian Cup for the first time since 1976 and reached the semi-finals after beating another of the pre-tournament favourites Japan 2-1.

On the eve of the Qatar clash, Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei also hit out at some of the officiating at the tournament, saying “VAR (video assistant referee) has not been very kind to us”.

“We could have had a penalty against Japan, but VAR did not check it for us,” he said. “We have to be stronger than everything that is happening at this tournament.”

Qatar are the defending champions and beat Uzbekistan on penalties to advance to the semi-finals.

Asked about the referee for the semi-final, Qatar coach Marquez Lopez said he was “only focusing on my own team”.

“I don’t think about who is the referee,” said the Spaniard.

Both sides won all three of their group games – the only teams to do so along with now-eliminated Iraq. Iran then squeezed through on penalties against Syria, before beating Japan in the last eight. That victory on Feb 3 over the Samurai Blue, thanks to a stoppage-time penalty from Alireza Jahanbakhsh, has Iran dreaming of a fourth Asian Cup title.

He said: “I think the generation we have right now is a mix of great players individually and great players with good experience as well. And the mix of these two helps us to combine to have a good performance...

 “It’s going to be a tough game, but hopefully the great result against Japan will give us confidence for the next game.”

Iran will welcome back striker Mehdi Taremi after the two-time Portuguese Primeira Liga top scorer was suspended for the Japan game.

Porto’s Taremi is 31 and could be playing at his last Asian Cup, with teammates Saman Ghoddos of Brentford (30), Sardar Azmoun of Roma (29) and Jahanbakhsh of Feyenoord (30) all of a similar age.

Said Ghalenoei: “For some of the players, maybe it will be the last dance. We are standing at a very sensitive part of history – we have a very good chance to make history for Iranian football and the Iranian people.”

Qatar won the Asian Cup for the first time in 2019 and are on a run of 12 straight wins in the competition.

Qatar’s Tarek Salman said there is fatigue in the squad after their quarter-final against Uzbekistan went to penalties, but team morale remains high.

“Everyone is excited, against Iran it will be physical,” he said. “They have stars who play in big leagues in Europe, so we’re motivated 200 per cent. We hope to bring joy to our fans.”

Lopez said: “We believe reaching the semi-finals is an achievement, but the mission is not accomplished yet.”

AFP, REUTERS