Football: Five Players Who Made a Name for Themselves at Asian Cup

Yazan Al-Naimat scores for Jordan against South Korea. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
Yazan Al-Naimat scores for Jordan against South Korea. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
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Football: Five Players Who Made a Name for Themselves at Asian Cup

Yazan Al-Naimat scores for Jordan against South Korea. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
Yazan Al-Naimat scores for Jordan against South Korea. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

Jordan and hosts and holders Qatar will contest the final of the Asian Cup on Saturday.
AFP Sport picks out five players who made a name for themselves during the tournament:
Yazan Al-Naimat (Jordan)
Together with fellow attacker Mousa Al-Tamari, Naimat terrorized South Korea's defence in Jordan's 2-0 semi-final win.
Tamari is Jordan's only player in Europe but clubs across the planet will have taken note of Naimat's all-action performances over the past month.
The 24-year-old Naimat scored in a 2-2 draw with South Korea in the group phase, then added another against them in the semi-final. He also netted in a thrilling 3-2 win over Iraq.
Quick and direct, he has created 10 chances during the tournament, the joint second most among all players.
He currently plays for Al-Ahli in Qatar and the center-forward has 14 goals in 43 appearances for his club, plus 15 assists.
Mousa Al-Tamari (Jordan)
The 26-year-old wide attacker is a contender for player of the tournament after his goals and assists, along with Naimat's, helped propel Jordan into a first final in their history.
Tamari is with French side Montpellier and his displays in Qatar have showcased his talents to an even wider audience.
He started his tournament with a bang, hitting a brace in a 4-0 demolition of Malaysia, then rose to the occasion with a man-of-the-match role in the win over South Korea in the last four.
Pacy, skilful and hard working, Tamari set up Naimat for the first goal and 13 minutes later got in on the act by slicing through the Korean defense before unleashing a ruthless finish.
Oday Dabbagh (Palestine)
Palestine made history by reaching the Asian Cup knockout rounds for the first time and Dabbagh played a crucial role, chipping in with three goals.
The striker, who moved to Belgian side Charleroi last year, was a constant nuisance for defenders with his aerial prowess and poacher's instinct in front of goal.
Just turned 25 and playing in his second Asian Cup, his peak years are still ahead of him.
Palestine's tournament ended in a 2-1 defeat to Qatar in the last 16, but together with skipper and defender Musab Al-Battat, Dabbagh was their star performer.
Abbosbek Fayzullaev (Uzbekistan)
Uzbekistan's tournament ended in the quarter-finals on penalties to Qatar but there will be plenty more Asian Cups for Fayzullaev.
The 20-year-old attacker has been one to watch for a while now and he showed why in particular with the winner from outside the box against Thailand in the last 16.
As is expected from a young player, he flitted out of games occasionally, but it was the CSKA Moscow starlet's second goal of the competition and he was named man of the match.
Thailand's uncompromising defenders had had enough of him by the end and he asked to be substituted late on to avoid any more rough treatment.
Lucas Mendes (Qatar)
Forward Akram Afif hogged the headlines for Qatar but Mendes also played a key role in taking the hosts and holders to the final.
Born in Brazil, Mendes played for Marseille a decade ago and has Champions League experience with them, suffering defeats to Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund.
Only made his Qatar debut in November but has played his club football in the country for the past nine years.
Quietly effective at the back, Mendes used all of his experience and defensive nous to help Qatar breeze through the group stage without conceding a goal.



Barcelona Scores 4 Goals in Opening 24 Minutes, Overwhelms Valencia 7-1

Barcelona's Spanish forward #07 Ferran Torres kicks the ball during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Valencia CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on January 26, 2025. (Photo by MANAURE QUINTERO / AFP)
Barcelona's Spanish forward #07 Ferran Torres kicks the ball during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Valencia CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on January 26, 2025. (Photo by MANAURE QUINTERO / AFP)
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Barcelona Scores 4 Goals in Opening 24 Minutes, Overwhelms Valencia 7-1

Barcelona's Spanish forward #07 Ferran Torres kicks the ball during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Valencia CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on January 26, 2025. (Photo by MANAURE QUINTERO / AFP)
Barcelona's Spanish forward #07 Ferran Torres kicks the ball during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Valencia CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on January 26, 2025. (Photo by MANAURE QUINTERO / AFP)

Barcelona got back on track in the Spanish league by overwhelming Valencia on Sunday with four different players scoring in the first 24 minutes of a 7-1 rout.
Frenkie de Jong opened the scoring in the third minute, Ferran Torres added to the lead in the eighth, Raphinha found the net in the 14th and Fermín López struck in the 24th at Montjuic stadium, The Associated Press reported.
López added the fifth in first-half stoppage time as Barcelona ended the first half with a 5-0 lead.
Valencia got its goal with Hugo Duro in the 59th before Barcelona scored again with Robert Lewandowski in the 66th and an own-goal by César Tárrega in the 75th.
The victory moved Barcelona within three points of second-placed Atletico Madrid and seven points off leader Real Madrid, which won 3-0 at Valladolid on Saturday with a hat trick by Kylian Mbappé. Atletico was held 1-1 by Villarreal on Saturday.
“We hadn't been doing well in the league and we needed to bounce back with a victory like that,” López said. “We have to keep fighting.”
Barcelona was coming off victories in the Champions League, Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, but had been winless in its last four league games.
Hansi Flick became the second-fastest coach to reach 100 goals with Barcelona, which has now scored 101 goals in 32 games in all competitions under the German. Helenio Herrera reached the mark in 31 matches in the 1950s.
Luis Enrique and Tito Vilanova each needed 34 games to reach the 100 mark, three quicker than Pep Guardiola at 37 matches.
Barcelona has scored five goals or more in four of its last five games across all competitions. It was coming off a 5-4 win over Benfica in the Champions League, and beat Real Betis 5-1 in the Copa del Rey and Real Madrid 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup.
Valencia is 19th in the 20-team standings. The club had the return of defender Mouctar Diakhaby 11 months after he sustained a serious knee injury.
“The only positive from this game was the return of Diakhaby,” Valencia coach Carlos Corberán said. “We all know how important he is for us.”
Other results Midtable Real Sociedad fell 3-0 at home against 14th-placed Getafe, losing for the third time in a row across all competitions.
Randy Nteka scored in the 80th and 83rd minutes as seventh-placed Rayo Vallecano came from behind to beat eighth-placed Girona 2-1.
Fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao was held to a 0-0 home draw against struggling Leganes.