BRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iraq beat Jordan 1-0 in their Group D opener of the AFC Asian Cup here on Monday as midfielder Yaser Safa Kasim scored the lone goal in the 78th minute.
Both teams, familiar with each other, tried to take an early scoring advantage from the very beginning. With an early upper hand, the 2007 Asian Cup champions Iraq made their first scoring attempt in the 16th minute through captain Younis Mahmoud.
Yet, the Iraqi footballers were unable to slice open a well-organized defence of Jordan, and neither side created clear chances during the first half.
After the break, Iraq launched their attack from the left wing through forward Younis Mahmoud and defender Dhurgham Ismael Dawood who even dribbled into the box in the 55th minute but fell to the floor in vain.
Four minutes later, Jordan made their impact as Mohammad Mustafa nearly found the net but his close-range effort was too weak and was denied by Iraqi keeper Jalal Hassan Hachim.
Forward Younis was benched in 72nd minute, before Kasim broke the deadlock six minutes later as his shot deflected off a Jordan defender and into the net.
In the 84th minute, defender Anas Bani Yaseen was sent off for his second yellow card, and Jordan were unable to stage any serious challenge since then.
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