Jordan, playing their first-ever Asian Cup Finals, reached the quarter-finals after drawing with the United Arab Emirates in Beijing on July 27.

Jordan, who beat Kuwait 2-0 and held South Korea 0-0 in the first two matches, finished second in Group B with five points behind South Korea, who qualified in style after crushing Kuwait 4-0 in a match simultaneously held in Ji'nan, 800 kilometers south of Beijing.

Watched by their King Abudullah II, Jordan found it hard to breach UAE's solid defense, which were built by five defenders in the first half.

UAE, who had already been eliminated from the group for failing to win a point, were more like a side to score but they failed to take several good chances.

The two sides seemed both satisfied with one point apiece in the second half and neither created a clear-cut chance.

Alaa Nabil, assistant to Jordan head coach Mahmoud Gohary of Egypt, felt upbeat about Jordan's historic achievement.

"It's a great achievement for Jordan to qualify for the quarter-finals," Nabil told reporters after the match.

Gohary suffered a strange injury to his leg and missed the post-match press conference.

King Abdullah, a former President of the Jordan Football Association and a keen follower of the national team, attended Jordan's final training session on Monday night, addressing the players before allowing Gohary and his staff to concentrate take the session.

"The players were stunned when they knew about it," said Nabil."It's a great honor for the team. And it's a great support of the players for His Highness the King's presence."

Jordan have earned themselves a reputation as the "Greece of Asia", playing a conservative game based around defense and not having too many players to attack.

But Nabil said their tactics will be changed in the knockout stage since a draw will be meaningless at that phase.

"It's very important to change the tactics in each game. We will change the tactics but first we must know whom we will play in the quarter-finals."

Jordan will play either Japan or Iran to vie in the last eight and Nabil said they prefer playing Iran.

"We are more familiar with Iran," he said.

Nabil stopped short of predicting their prospect beyond the quarter-finals, saying: "The last group matches were good preparation for the next match."

UAE's Dutch coach Aad De Mos said they could do little in a match where they had only honor to fight for.

"After losing the first two matches, it's difficult to keep team spirit in this match. But the players did their maximum to win a point."

Source: Xinhua