Qatar ride hat-trick of penalties to Asian Cup title

Qatar successfully defended their Asian Cup title on Saturday, beating Jordan in a tumultuous final with a hat-trick of penalties from Akram Afif carrying the hosts to victory at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

Qatar's Hassan Al-Haydos, center, lifts the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup trophy as his team celebrates during the podium ceremony after the final between Jordan and Qatar at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Saturday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Qatar successfully defended their Asian Cup title on Saturday, beating Jordan in a tumultuous final with a hat-trick of penalties from Akram Afif carrying the hosts to victory at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

Afif put Qatar up with a penalty in the 22nd minute, with Jordan’s Yazan Al-Naimat tying things up at the top of the second half. Qatar went ahead again with a penalty in the 73rd, with the final nail in the coffin coming in stoppage time when VAR awarded yet another Qatar penalty.

Jordan, who had beat Korea 2-0 in a semifinal upset, attempted to rally a couple of times but were unable to beat the penalty-spot onslaught.

With the win, Qatar are the fifth team to win back-to-back Asian Cup titles, after Japan in 2000 and 2004, Saudi Arabia in 1984 and 1988, Iran in 1968, 1972 and 1976, and Korea in 1956 and 1960.

Qatar joins Korea as one of the tournament’s two-time winners, sitting behind Iran and Saudi Arabia, with three wins apiece, and Japan, with four.

Qatar’s most recent victory came after a dramatic tournament that saw all five of Asia’s highest-ranked teams fall short of the final.

Japan, the highest-ranked team in the AFC, crashed out of the tournament in the quarterfinals, losing 2-1 to the second-highest ranked team, Iran.

Iran made it to the semifinals where they fell 3-2 to Qatar, while on the other side of the bracket, Korea, the third-highest ranked team, was seen off by Jordan.

Korea had already taken care of the AFC’s No. 4 team Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 and No. 5 Australia — not technically in Asia, but a member of the AFC — in the quarterfinals.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]