The Jordanian national football team successfully restored confidence among its supporters after a string of poor results, opening its Arab Cup (Qatar 2025) campaign with a 2–1 victory over the United Arab Emirates. The match took place yesterday at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor as part of Group C fixtures.
اضافة اعلان
Jordan opened the scoring in the 20th minute from the penalty spot through Ali Al-Alwan. The UAE equalized in the 47th minute via Bruno Oliveira, before Yazan Al-Naimat netted the winning goal for Jordan in the 63rd minute. Al-Alwan also missed a second penalty in the first half. The UAE played with ten men from the 19th minute after Khaled Al-Dhahnani received a red card.
Egypt and Kuwait had drawn 1–1 the day before in the same group, leaving Jordan alone at the top of Group C.
Jordan will play its second match on Saturday against Kuwait at 2:00 p.m. at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, before concluding the group stage against Egypt next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Al Bayt Stadium.
Jordan 2 – UAE 1
Jordan lineup:
Yazeed Abu Leila, Abdullah Naseeb “Diarra,” Saad Al-Rawsan, Saleem Obeid (Hussam Abu Thahab), Adham Al-Qurashi, Ibrahim Saadeh (Amer Jamos), Nizar Al-Rashdan (Rajai Ayed), Mohannad Abu Taha, Ali Al-Alwan, Ahmed Al-Arsan (Mahmoud Mardi), Yazan Al-Naimat (Oudah Fakhouri).
Head coach: Jamal Salami (Morocco)
UAE lineup:
Hamad Al-Maqbali, Robin Philip, Lucas Pimenta, Kwame Kweedo (Sasa Ivkovic), Khaled Al-Dhahnani, Luan Pereira (Yahya Al-Ghassani), Yahya Nader (Issam Fayez), Marcos Meloni (Ali Saleh), Nicolas Gimenez, Caio Lucas, Bruno Oliveira (Harib Suhail).
Head coach: Cosmin Olaroiu (Romania)
Match officials:
Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman), Abu Bakr Al-Omari (Oman), Rashid Al-Ghiyathi (Oman), Kawana Kirk (Australia)
Cards:
Red card for Khaled Al-Dhahnani. Yellow cards for Hamad Al-Maqbali and Yahya Al-Ghassani (UAE), Amer Jamos (Jordan)
Goal Timeline
• 20’ – Yazan Al-Naimat wins a penalty after being fouled by Khaled Al-Dhahnani; Ali Al-Alwan converts it with precision to the right side.
• 47’ – Luan Pereira delivers a pass to Bruno Oliveira, who strikes a powerful shot into the right corner of the Jordanian net.
• 63’ – Nizar Al-Rashdan sends a through ball to Al-Naimat; the ball deflects off UAE defender Kwame Kweedo and loops over the goalkeeper into the net.
Key Chances
• Nicolas Gimenez fires a strong shot that narrowly misses Abu Leila’s goal (6’).
• Al-Arsan goes one-on-one but the goalkeeper denies him and pushes the ball for a corner (22’).
• Al-Alwan misses a second penalty after the UAE goalkeeper blocks his attempt (39’).
• Abu Leila saves a close-range strike from Oliveira and turns it out for a corner (50’).
• Al-Alwan unleashes a powerful shot that is saved by the UAE goalkeeper (70’).
• Al-Alwan tries a low effort from close range, but the goalkeeper collects it comfortably (80’).
• Al-Naimat misses a golden chance to extend the lead, shooting wide from in front of goal (83’).
Man of the Match
Yazan Al-Naimat earned FIFA’s Man of the Match award after an outstanding performance, winning two penalties and scoring the decisive goal. He received a rating of 8.6.
Notes & Highlights
• Attendance reached 30,759 spectators, with Jordanian fans clearly outnumbering and out-voicing the UAE supporters.
• Ali Al-Alwan has now scored in three consecutive matches for Jordan, raising his international tally to 24 goals and moving to sixth place on the all-time scoring list.
• The match saw two penalties, the highest in a single game during the tournament’s opening round.
• Jordan conceded the fastest goal of the Arab Cup’s second half, just 1 minute and 52 seconds after restart.
• Jordan U-23 coach Omar Najjhi watched the match from the media tribune to monitor the game from above and coordinate with the technical staff on the bench.
