The upcoming championship battle will be between Qatar and Jordan. Looking at the overall power comparison, Qatar, with its unique geographical location and time zone advantage, seems to have a head start and is expected to realize the return of the king. However, Jordan's overall performance should not be underestimated, especially their forward line which works well together and is impressive. Looking back at their journey to eliminate South Korea, they went all the way through and almost crushed the South Koreans to the point of collapse, which undoubtedly reveals the disparity in strength between the two sides.
As the Asian Cup program draws to a close, cold streaks are emerging. Japan unexpectedly went out of the tournament and failed to make it to the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, none of the original four strongest teams - Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Australia - were spared, and all ended up in the cold. From this perspective, Qatar's victory in the final is not a nail-biter. Personally, I think Jordan is expected to make a comeback and hit the ground running. As for referee Manning, with his rigorous style of officiating, it is hard to imagine that he will favor the home team of Qatar.
