Winners of the previous edition, in 2019, the Qataris won on Saturday thanks to a hat-trick from Akram Afif from the penalty spot.
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It has been twenty years since a team last retained their title in this Asian Cup – since Japan in 2004. Qatar can now add their name to that list, after their victory against Jordan in the final of the competition (3-1), Saturday February 10, at home at the Lusail stadium. And it was Al-Sadd’s scorer, Akram Afif, who carried his team by scoring a hat-trick from the penalty spot (22nd, 73rd, 90+5). Author of eight goals in total, two more than the Iraqi Aymen Hussein, he was also named player of the competition.
Yazan Al-Naimat, for a time, allowed Jordan, the country of Montpellier’s Musa Al-Tamari, to believe in its chances by equalizing in the 67th minute. But the first final in the history of the selection was not the right one.
The competition which began on January 12 and involved six Ligue 1 players (Junya Ito, Takumi Minamino, Keito Nakamura, Kang-In Lee, Musa Al-Tamari and Abdukodir Khusanov) is therefore closing its doors. The next edition of this tournament bringing together the best teams from the Asian continent will take place in three years in Saudi Arabia.
