Many more games have been played in the group stage of the Asian Cup. After Japan, South Korea, another favorite to win the tournament, made an appearance. Facing West Asian powerhouse Bahrain, South Korea got off to a good start by beating their opponents 3-1. However, with three points, South Korea can still only finish second in the group as there is a team in Group E, which has been even more amazing than their performance!
Defending champions Qatar unexpectedly rolled over as Jordan from West Asia beat their team in a friendly match before the start of the Asian Cup. In the first round of the group stage, Jordan's opponent is Southeast Asia Malaysia. Perhaps in the impression of many fans, Malaysia has always been the Asian soccer "fish belly", can not create any storm. However, after vigorous naturalization, the strength of the Malaysian team has been qualitatively improved. In last September's friendly, Malaysia team in our doorstep 1-1 draw Chinese men's football, strength should not be underestimated!
Malaysia were not timid in the face of an opponent who was ranked far above them in the world. Instead of fighting back in a bus, as everyone thought they would, they played Jordan directly. But this time, Malaysia paid a heavy price for their aggressiveness. Just 18 minutes into the match, Jordan took firm control of the game with goals from Mardi and Tamari to make it 2-0.
Trailing by two goals, Malaysia could only further intensify their attack in an attempt to reverse the defeat, but the constant increase in power at the attacking end of the field also left their defense increasingly exposed. In the 27th minute, Jordan scored another goal from Tamari but they were disallowed due to offside by a teammate. But Jordan still managed to get their third goal five minutes later when a long ball from the back of the field went straight through the Malaysian defense and Nemat wasn't greedy in the face of a chance, but scored to Mardi who had an easy empty net to help Jordan extend their lead to 3-0 and kill the suspense of the game at halftime!
Although Malaysia's counter-attack created some chances, it could not be converted into goals. On the contrary, Jordan's counter-attacks were once again effective. In the 85th minute, it was another simple long pass from the back. Tamari picked up the ball and sent it into Malaysia for the fourth time with a flicked pick and put the score at 4-0. In the end, Jordan defeated Malaysia 4-0 to record their biggest win since the start of the Asian Cup. On goal difference, they temporarily leapfrogged South Korea to top the Group E standings!
You might not expect Jordan to be ranked eight places below China in the world rankings, but the world rankings are not as good as the national soccer team, but the Chinese men's soccer team is out of reach. Along with Japan, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Australia, the Chinese men's soccer team has a growing list of rivals in Asia, and it seems like Chinese soccer is the only thing that continues to move forward when everyone else does.
