Jordan often struggled to win a ticket and qualify for the Asian Cup, mainly, due to a weaker league and not many players competing professionally.
In the first two editions, Jordan stunned all predictions by drawing and defeating many Asian powerhouses such as South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia, and they were considered a heavy underdog which qualified for the quarter-finals twice, their best result to date.
Although considered to be an underdog, Jordan surprised by drawing South Korea 0–0 before beating Kuwait 2–0 and drew the UAE 0–0, therefore passed into the quarter-finals right on their debut.
Similar to 2004, Jordan, one more time, shocked by drawing Japan 1–1 before defeating Saudi Arabia and Syria to qualify with seven points.
[1] Having created a strong impression four years ago, Jordan was expected to at least, surprised again by qualifying to quarter-finals or even, reaching no.1 in the group.
Prior to the encounter, Jordanian media and press had signaled in confident against Vietnam, the last team to qualify for the stage, and even confirmed for a full victory.
However, the second half witnessed a complete Vietnamese resurgence, with Nguyễn Công Phượng became the first player to net on Amer Shafi, turned the tie into a draw 1–1.