Jordan beats Singapore, qualifies to Asian Cup finals

AMMAN – Jordan qualified for the 2015  Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup on Tuesday after a 3-1 win over Singapore in an away match at Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore.

Thaer Bawab opened the scoring for Jordan just one minute before the end of the first half. 

As Singapore defender Baihakki Khaizan was sent-off in stoppage time of the first half, Ahmad Hayel added a second in the 51st minute. 

Hayel also was sent off in the second half of the match by Chinese referee Tan Hai for rough play. 

Singapore managed to reduce the deficit in the 84th minute by Khairul Amri through a penalty,  but Jordan’s substitute Yousef Rawashdeh netted in stoppage time. 

Unbeaten Jordan secured qualification from Group A alongside Oman with a game to spare against Syria on March 5 in Amman. 

“When Singapore scored the penalty, it put my players under a lot of stress,” Jordan coach Hossam Hassan was quoted by the AFC website as saying. 

“But we kept our composure to score again and achieved what we had wanted to do, to qualify for the finals,” Hassan added. 

Jordan held Oman 0-0 in Muscat, as the return leg matches started. In Round 1, Jordan held Oman 0-0, tied Syria 1-1 and defeated Singapore 4-0. 

The Asian Cup 2015 qualifiers include 20 teams playing in five groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group and the best third-placed team will qualify to the tournament. The draw for the finals will be held on
March 26.

Twelve teams have already qualified automatically to the finals set for January 9, 2015: They include Asian Cup 2011 champions Japan, third-placed South Korea, hosts and runners-up Australia, AFC Challenge Cup 2012 winners North Korea.  The 2014 AFC Challenge Cup champs will get a direct berth, and three more qualifiers will be decided from the current competing groups. 

In other groups, Iran and Kuwait have qualified from Group B; Saudi Arabia from Group C; Bahrain and Qatar from Group D; and the UAE and Uzbekistan from Group E.