Physical Arab teams taking fight to heavyweights at Asian Cup

The second round of Asian Cup group games offered up a few surprises when the tournament favorites were given a reality check as physical Arab teams showed they had closed the gap considerably on their more illustrious opponents.

Japan, a four-time champion and the highest-ranked team in the competition, was upset 2-1 by Iraq, while South Korea nearly lost to Jordan for the first time before being given a lifeline by an own goal in injury time.

Jordan coach Hussein Ammouta said “Arab teams playing on Arab turf” in Qatar must take the fight to their opponents.