A challenging handshake between Spaniard Marquez Lopez and Moroccan Hussein Amouta (Associated Press)
The final scene of the long, entertaining and exciting continental football series will be shown tomorrow, Saturday, at Lusail Stadium, which is hosting the Asian Cup final between the Qatar national team, the defending champion and owner of the land and hospitality, striving to preserve it, and the Jordan national team aspiring to write a continental fairy tale and write its name among the champions.
Great pressure will be on the shoulders of the players who are competing in the third Arab confrontation in this tournament, after the UAE and Saudi Arabia in the 1996 edition and the 2007 final, which brought together Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The coaches of the Spanish national team, Marquez Lopez and the Moroccan national team, Hussein Amouta, tried to alleviate the pressure on them.
🇶🇦🫂🇯🇴
Who will lift this precious cup at Lusail Stadium tomorrow?🏆#AsiaCup2023 | #Come_Asia pic.twitter.com/TjMxO1zqMf
- #Asia_Cup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 9, 2024
“It's just a football match that we have to enjoy,” Lopez said. As for Amouta, who may become the second Arab coach to win the title after Saudi Khalil Al-Zayani in 1984, he said: “It is a final match and does not need introductions. We stand one step away from achieving a historic title.”
He added: "We are preparing normally without increasing pressure, and we want to present a level befitting our team. We will go into the match without an inferiority complex."
Final road
The path of the two teams to the final was not similar, as the Qatar national team topped the first group with a full score, defeating Lebanon, Tajikistan and China and exiting from the first round with 3 victories and not conceding a single goal.
Lopez played in the group stage with 3 tactical formations: 4-4-2, 4-3-3, and 4-5-1.
As for the knockout rounds, he played with a 3-5-2 plan, relying on the speed and effectiveness of Akram Afif and Al-Moez Ali. Relying on this plan, “Al-Annabi” defeated the Palestine national team 2-1, after being 1-0 behind, and beat Uzbekistan on penalties in the match. A match whose hero was goalkeeper Mishal Barshim, and he defeated Iran in an exciting and dramatic manner in the semi-finals 3-2.
One last step towards glory 🏆
Al-Nashama vs. Al-Anabi in the #Asia_Cup_Final 🇶🇦🇯🇴 #Asia_Cup 2023 | #Come onAsia | #Jordan_Qatar pic.twitter.com/OJ1SPBlkIY
- #Asia_Cup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 8, 2024
As for “Al-Nashama’s” path in the group stage, it faced bumps, and its performance was unsteady. It started the tournament strongly in the fifth group and defeated Malaysia 4-0, then missed the win against South Korea and tied with an own goal in the fatal time 2-2, after which it lost to Bahrain to occupy third place. In the group.
Moroccan Amouta played all the tournament matches with one tactical formation, which is 4-3-2-1, with the clear spearhead being Yazan Al-Naimat, and his successors were Musa Al-Taamari, Ali Alwan, or Mahmoud Mardi.
In this plan, and through the long passes of the fast, effective and goal-scoring trio, Al-Naimat, Al-Taamari and Alwan, Iraq was defeated in time and with a Hitchcockian scenario in the final 16, 3-2, and then beat Tajikistan after the Moroccan coach played the same way as Tajikistan’s coach, the Croatian Seghart, and beat him by a clean goal. Then there was the confrontation with South Korea in the semi-finals, in which Amouta taught a tactical lesson to the German Jurgen Klinsmann, coach of “Al-Shamshoum”, and defeated him technically, with the result being two unanswered goals.
Most prominent players
The Qatari team achieved a record in the continental championship by reaching its 13th consecutive victory in the Asian Cup finals, and in the 2019 edition it only conceded one goal, and in this tournament it conceded 4 times, while in this tournament it scored 10 goals and 4 players signed them ( Akram Afif, Al-Moez Ali, Hassan Al-Haydos, and Jassim Jaber).
Afif, the most prominent player not only in the “Al-Adam” national team; In fact, in the entire tournament, he is one of the most prominent candidates to win the best award. He is the second top scorer in the tournament with 5 goals (one goal behind Ayman Hussein) and the player who contributed the most goals (8 contributions). He also made 3 goals for his teammates, topping the list of the best assisters in the tournament.
“Annabi fans, we are waiting for you tomorrow, and God willing, you will leave the stadium happy.” 🗣️
Annabi captain Hassan Al-Haydos ©️ sends a special message to Al-Adam fans before the #AsiaCupFinal 🇶🇦 #AsiaCup2023 | #Come onAsia | #Jordan_Qatar pic.twitter.com/fJUwS97KkS
- #Asia_Cup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 9, 2024
He has the highest rating in the tournament from more than one statistics website, the highest being his rating of 9.8 out of 10, in Lebanon’s opening match, while his average in the tournament reaches 8.4, and his mark in almost every match in scoring, passing and assisting is that he created 15 complete chances, and he also scored a goal. From every 3.4 shots, all those numbers and he's still 27 years old.
Afif previously played 3 experiences on the European continent with Villarreal, Spain's Sporting Gijon, and Belgium's Eupen, before joining the ranks of Qatar's Al-Sadd in 2018.
Who can lead this burgundy 🇶🇦😃 #AsiaCup2023 | #Come onAsia | #AsiaCupFinal pic.twitter.com/zsrdvobQ3c
- #Asia_Cup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 8, 2024
Then comes Almoez Ali (27 years old), the top scorer of the last edition and the holder of 11 continental goals, in which he occupies second place in the list of the tournament’s historical scorers after the Iranian star Ali Daei. He did not perform at the level expected of him in this tournament, as he scored two goals and made two more, and he may be able to... Future snatch first place from the Iranian national team legend and become the continent's all-time top scorer.
As for the octopus goalkeeper, Mishal Barshim, who is nominated for the best goalkeeper award in the tournament, not because of his performance against Uzbekistan and saving 3 penalty kicks; Rather, for his overall performance in the tournament, especially his exceptional saves against Iran.
Clash of the Titans 🧤🚫
Who is the goalkeeper who will keep a clean sheet in the #AsiaCupFinal?👀#AsiaCup2023 | #ComeAsia pic.twitter.com/Jfwofws0qI
- #Asia_Cup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 8, 2024
Regarding Lopez's participation of 26 players in this tournament so far, the Qatar national team coach says, "Everyone deserved to participate and therefore we decided to distribute the minutes. Of course some of them got more minutes, but everyone played a role in order for us to reach the final match."
Young people are knocking on the door of history
On the other hand, the fairy tale story of the Jordanian national team continues thanks to an integrated group of players led by a seasoned Moroccan coach. It is true that Al-Taamari's stardom is overwhelming, but this does not diminish the quality of Al-Naimat, Alwan's skill, and Mahmoud Mardi's high scoring sense.
The Jordanian team scored 12 goals, with 6 players taking turns, led by: Al-Taamari scored 3 and assisted a goal, Al-Naimat also scored 3 and assisted 2 goals, and Al-Mardi also scored 2 goals.
“God willing, we will make you proud of us.” 🗣️
Jordanian national team player Salem Al-Ajalin sends a message to the star players before the #AsiaCupFinal 🇯🇴💪 #AsiaCup2023 | #Come onAsia | #Jordan_Qatar pic.twitter.com/bMlU5YiAzw
- #Asia_Cup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 9, 2024
These numbers tell us that Amouta presents a homogeneous group in which everyone plays with a team spirit, and not a single-star team. Everyone can score, even the two centre-backs, Yazan Al-Arab and Abdullah Nassib.
Jamal Mahmoud, the coach who gave Al-Taamari his first opportunity, says: The Jordanian international “is considered a combination of the Argentine stars Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi and the Dutchman Arjen Robben. He has great speed and a strong physical structure, but most important of all is his ability to keep the ball while moving it quickly.”
The Jordanian dream continues 🇯🇴✨#AsiaCupFinal | #AsiaCup2023 | #ComeAsiapic.twitter.com/Ow2NZwGZi3
- #Asia_Cup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 8, 2024
The speed, skill and effectiveness of Al-Taamari, the French player from Montpellier, who is also nominated to win the award for the best player in the tournament, along with Al-Naimat, the Qatari Al-Ahly striker, and Alwan, the Qatari Al-Shamal striker, won the award. Amouta relied on falling balls behind the opponents' defence, and relied on these three to destroy the defenders' fortresses with short passes between them, launch surprise attacks, and score the net quickly.
We may witness a tactical duel from the bench between two teams that rely on almost the same plan and the same playing style.
Source: Al Jazeera