Taiwan loses 5-0 to Jordan in World Cup football qualifier

Taipei, Nov. 20 (CNA) Taiwan's national football team was shutout by Jordan on Wednesday, losing 5-0 to the host country, in the second round of qualifiers for the FIFA 2022 World Cup.

The first goal came just four minutes into the match with an assist from Jordanian midfielder Mousa Al-Taamari that resulted in a shot by forward Baha' Faisal six yards from the goal line, beating Taiwan goalkeeper Pan Wen-chieh (潘文傑) to open the scoring at Amman International Stadium in Jordan.

Taiwan struggled to defend against the hosts, who dominated possession and in the 25th minute Jordanian midfielder Ahmed Al-Ersan sent a thunderous drive from outside the left side of the penalty area over the outstretched hands of the Taiwanese goalkeeper straight into the top right corner of the net.

With halftime rapidly approaching, Taiwan suffered another blow when Jordanian defender Yazan Al-Arab headed a rebound off the goalpost for midfielder Salem Al-Ajalin to tap-in in the 43rd minute, giving Jordan a 3-nil lead at the end of the first half.

Photo courtesy of Jordan Football Association

Photo courtesy of Jordan Football Association

Photo courtesy of Jordan Football Association

The second half was no better for Taiwan as Jordanian forward Hamza Al-Dardour scored a fourth goal for the home team 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 the Taiwanese goalkeeper, with just 15 minutes left to play.

After the match, Louis Lancaster, Taiwan's head coach, said he is proud of his team, because they are facing national teams backed by professional leagues, while over 90 percent of the players in Taiwan's national team are from semi-professional leagues.

The team will grow from these experiences and put up a better fight in the next match, which is against Nepal, he said.

Photo courtesy of Jordan Football Association

The 5-0 defeat leaves Taiwan at the bottom of Group B in the FIFA 2022 World Cup Asian Qualifiers Round 2, after Australia, Kuwait, Jordan, and Nepal, in that order.

Prior to Wednesday's 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 so far and zero points, Taiwan has little chance of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The team faces Nepal on March 26, 2020; Australia on June 4, 2020; and Kuwait on June 9, 2020, in Group B's round robin Asian qualifiers.

The winners of the eight groups in Asia and four best runners-up will progress to the third round.