Jordan plays Iraq, hopes to reach Asian Cup quarters

AMMAN  —  The knockout stage of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, currently under way in Doha, Qatar, kicks off with Round of 16 matches of Sunday with teams now eyeing the quarterfinals of the 18th edition of the tournament.

For Jordan, the big day is Monday when the team plays 2007 champs Iraq at 2:30 pm Amman time hoping to win and advance to the quarters of the championship. The Kingdom finished 3rd in Group E following a 1-0 defeat to 86th ranked Bahrain, tying world’s 23rd ranked Korea 2-2, and scoring a 4-0 win over 130th ranked Malaysia 4-0.

By finishing 3rd in the group, 87th  ranked Jordan dodged playing tougher opponents like Japan as the top two teams from each group in addition to four best third placed teams moved to the Round of 16.

Twenty four teams contested the first round playing in 6 Groups with Qatar the defending champs. Qatar and Tajikistan moved from Group A; Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria from Group B; Iran, UAE and Palestine from Group C; Iraq, Japan and Indonesia from Group D; Bahrain, South Korea and Jordan from Group E; Saudi and Thailand from Group F. Palestine, Syria, and Tajikistan qualified to the Round of 16 for the first time as well as Indonesia who moved as best fourth. The champions will receive $5 million, the runners-up $3 million, and the losing semifinalists $1 million. All 24 participating teams will also receive $200,000.

Sunday’s matches include Australia vs Indonesia, Tajikistan vs UAE. On Monday Qatar plays Palestine, and Jordan faces Iraq. On Tuesday, Uzbekistan plays Thailand, and Saudi Arabia faces on Korea. On Wednesday, Bahrain takes on Japan, and Iran plays Syria.