Group E action at the Asian Cup continues on Saturday with a first-place showdown, as Jordan take on South Korea at Al Thumama Stadium.
The Jordanians began their campaign with an impressive 4-0 win over Malaysia, while the Tigers of Asia scored a pair of second-half goals to defeat Bahrain 3-1.
Match preview
The fourth successive appearance for Jordan at this tournament could not have begun much better, as they equalled their largest-ever margin of victory in this competition (5-1 over Palestine in 2015).
That result has Jordan at the top of the group on goal difference and unbeaten in their last four Asian Cup group fixtures.
It seems as though Hussein Ammouta's men picked up a thing or two from Japan when it comes to scoring, with the Japanese thumping them 6-1 just days before their Asian Cup opener, while Jordan's four-goal output on matchday one was the most they have netted in a single game since March 2023 (4-0 win over the Philippines).
The Chivalrous Ones have not conceded a goal in their last six group-stage affairs in this competition, and with a win on Saturday, they stand a good chance of making it into the knockout stage of this tournament on consecutive occasions.
Qatar seem to bring them good luck in this competition, with Jordan going unbeaten in the 2011 group stage when the tournament last took place there, making it to the quarter-finals that year.
Jordan have not won consecutive matches since September 2022, when they defeated Oman 1-0, just three days after blanking Syria (2-0).
Making his coaching debut at the Asian Cup, Jurgen Klinsmann saw his South Koreans pull out an opening victory in a scrappy affair where individual quality made the difference.
The South Koreans will hope that is the first step towards ending their lengthy Asian Cup title drought, which goes back to 1960 when they lifted the trophy on home soil.
They have not lost a group stage fixture at this tournament since 2007 (2-1 versus Bahrain), having won eight consecutive Asian Cup group games.
Although the Abdullah Al-Hashash equaliser put Bahrain on level terms for a mere five minutes, it put an end to a six-match run for the South Koreans without conceding in the group stage of this tournament.
After losing two of his first three games in charge, Klinsmann has seen his side go unbeaten in nine successive matches in all competitions while reeling off seven consecutive victories.
The Tigers of Asia have not lost to an Asian opponent since July 2022, when arch-rivals Japan beat them 3-0 in the East Asian Football Championship.
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Team News
Anas Bani Yaseen, who played in every minute of their 2019 Asian Cup campaign, scoring their first goal of that competition, was on the bench for the opening match but could see the field this weekend after Abdallah Nasib sustained an injury, while Mahmoud Al-Mardi also got hurt shortly after scoring his second goal of that encounter.
Yazan Al-Arab made his Asian Cup debut in their opening match on Monday, starting in a back three alongside Salem Al-Ajalin and Nasib.
Yazid Abu Laila only had to make three stops to collect a clean sheet on matchday one as Al-Mardi and Musa Al-Taamari each netted twice, with the Montpellier HSC striker now tied with Odai Al-Saify and Baha Faisal for seventh in all-time goals (15).
Hwang Hee-chan sat out of the opening match for South Korea as the Wolves midfielder is still dealing with a left hip injury.
Hwang In-beom moved above the half-century mark for caps in their opener, making his 51st career appearance, Lee Jae-sung is one away from 80 and captain Son Heung-min collected his 118th national team cap, four fewer than Yoo Sang-chul for sixth all-time.
A 38th-minute strike courtesy of In-beom put South Korea in front against Bahrain, while Lee Kang-in notched a brace to give his side the victory.
Jordan possible starting lineup:
Layla; Yaseen, Al-Arab, Al-Ajalin; Shelbaieh, Ayed, Al-Rawabdeh, Sadeh; Al-Taamari, Olwan; Al-Naimat
South Korea possible starting lineup:
Seung-gyu; Young-woo, Jin-su, Ki-je; Kang-in, Woo-yeong, In-beom, Jae-sung; Heung-min, Gue-sung, Hyeon-gyu
We say: Jordan 0-2 South Korea
Jordan have never beaten South Korea in five previous meetings, failing to score on four occasions, and given their injury concerns we expect them to have difficulty creating many chances on Saturday.
We believe the difficult opening match for the South Koreans will serve as a wake-up call for a group of players desperate to get their country back on top of the Asian podium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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