Yazan Al Naimat (centre) celebrates with teammates after scoring Jordan’s second goal.
Doha, Qatar: Yazan Al Naimat fired the winner as Jordan defeated 10-man United Arab Emirates 2-1 win in their opening FIFA Arab Cup 2025 Group C clash at Al Bayt Stadium yesterday.
Ali Olwan converted a spot kick in 20th minute to take Jordan into lead with Bruno leveling for the UAE early in the second half before Al Naimat netted the winner in 63rd minute
The win puts Jordan two points ahead of Egypt and Kuwait, who shared a 1-1 draw on Tuesday.
“It’s a crucial victory and important three points for us,” Al Naimat said at a post match press conference.
“It will give us motivation ahead of the challenging matches which we are going to face.”
UAE started well with Nicolas Gimenez’s shot from range flashing just wide of Yazeed Abulaila’s goal but things took a drastic change in the 18th minute.
Cosmin Olaroiu’s side went down to 10 men after Khaled Aldhanhani pulled down Al Naimat in the box and was shown a straight red card with Olwan sending Hamad Almeqbaali the wrong way with the resulting penalty.
Jordan were awarded another penalty after Almeqbaali was judged to have tripped Al Naimat but the goalkeeper made amends to deny Olwan’s second spot-kick in the 39th minute to keep UAE within touching distance.
A different UAE appeared for the second half, drawing level after two minutes when Luanzinho broke free on the left with his cutback sliced home by Bruno between Abulaila and the near post. Jamal Sellami’s side regained their hold on the match in the 63rd minute after Kouadio Kouame’s clearance hit Al Naimat and looped over Almeqbaali, with the Jordan forward making no mistake in steering the ball home from close range.
Al Naimat missed a great chance with seven minutes left on the clock when he took too long to decide with his attempt blocked by Lucas Pimenta but it wasn’t to matter as Jordan saw out the win.
UAE coach Olaroiu lamented a red card decision: "The red card was a harsh decision, and the numerical disadvantage changed our game plan against Jordan."
Jordan play Kuwait next while UAE will look to bounce back against Egypt, with both matches on Saturday.
