A stoppage time penalty on Wednesday night rescued a precious point for the UAE as they secured a 1-1 draw against Jordan in their opening match of the 2022 Arab Cup U-20 at Damac Stadium in Abha.
The 18-team tournament kicked off yesterday with Saudi Arabia beating Mauritania 2-0 in the opening fixture, and will run until Aug. 6.
The Jordanians had taken a 45th-minute lead through Amin Al-Shanaineh, and although the UAE came back strongly in the second half, they were unable to breach their opponent’s defense as full time approached.
A late penalty award gave the Emiratis a lifeline and Hazza Al-Junaibi dispatched the spot-kick to secure his team a draw.
Jordan will now face Yemen on Saturday, while the UAE team wrap up Group B when they take on the same opponents on Tuesday.
