Taiwan’s national soccer team on Tuesday were shut out by Jordan, losing 5-0 to the hosts in the second round of qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The first goal came just four minutes into the match at Amman International Stadium, with Jordan forward Baha’ Faisal taking a pass from midfielder Mousa al-Taamari to fire from close range and beat Taiwan goalkeeper Pan Wen-chieh.
Taiwan struggled to defend against the hosts, who dominated possession.
In the 25th minute Jordan midfielder Ahmed al-Ersan sent a thunderous drive from outside the left side of the penalty area over Pan’s outstretched hands straight into the top-right corner of the goal.
With halftime rapidly approaching, Taiwan suffered another blow in the 43rd minute, when Jordan defender Yazan al-Arab headed a rebound off the goalpost for midfielder Salem al-Ajalin to tap in, giving Jordan a 3-0 lead at the end of the first half.
The second half was no better for Taiwan, as Jordan forward Hamza al-Dardour scored a fourth goal for the hosts in the 62nd minute from a free-kick that curled around the wall into the bottom-left corner.
Although Taiwan tried to attack in the second half, any hope of a comeback was ended when Faisal scored his second goal of the match and Jordan’s fifth with a powerful shot that bounced off the ground, wrong-footing Pan with just 15 minutes left to play.
After the match, Taiwan head coach Louis Lancaster said that he was proud of his team, because they are facing national teams backed by professional leagues, while more than 90 percent of the players in Taiwan’s national team are from semi-professional leagues.
The team would grow from these experiences and put up a better fight in the next match, which is against Nepal, he said.
The 5-0 defeat left Taiwan at the bottom of Group B in the second round of Asian qualifiers behind leaders Australia, Kuwait, Jordan and Nepal.
Prior to the defeat by Jordan, Taiwan had lost to Jordan 2-1, Nepal 2-0, Australia 7-1 and Kuwait 9-0.
Going forward without a win and zero points, Taiwan have little chance of qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar.
They are to face Nepal on March 26 next year, Australia on June 4 and Kuwait on June 9 in Group B’s round-robin Asian qualifiers.
The winners of the eight groups in Asia and the four best runners-up progress to the third round.
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