Jordan ties in Seoul and keeps hopes alive
AMMAN — The Jordanian national team, popularly known as " Nashama", drew on Tuesday with South Korea 1-1 at Suwon World Cup Stadium. The host scored after only five minutes when Lee Jael-sung rushed into the five- metre box to push Son Heung-min's corner over the line.
South Korea capitalied on a confused defensive play by the Jordanian team to create a goal-chances and in 12th minute Cho Yu-Min header from the left side of the five- metre box went over the crossbar.
In 30th minute Mousa Al Tamari saw his initial shot saved by Jo Hyeon-woo's dive ,but the rebound looped up towards Mahmoud Al Mardi and his strike was deflected past the keeper off the back of Korean defender Kwon Kyung-won.
Jordan created an opportunity when Tamari blasted the ball too high after a corner kick.
When the second half started, the host continue to press Jordanian defenders as the possession during the game was 75-25% for South Korea. Koreans tried desperately to find a net while Jordanians relied on counter-attacks.
In 69th minute, Park Yong-Woo's header from a close range was saved by Yazeed Abu Laila and that was the biggest opportunity for the Korean squad in the second half.
The tie moves South Korea to 16 points, three ahead of Jordan, with third-placed Iraq a point behind with 12 points.
Later during the evening Palestine beat Iraq 2-1 in Kuala Lumpur, helping the Jordanian team consolidate in the second place. Oman surprised Kuwait in Kuwait City with 1-0 victory clinching the fourth place with 10 points.
However, the race for the World Cup 2026 is far from over and Nashama has two more games: an away match with Oman on June 5th and a home game vs Iraq in Amman on June 10th.
After eight rounds in Group B, one thing is certain-there is no clear favourites and even experienced squads like South Korea can drop points against underdogs.