Jordan has claimed the 2021 Arab Women’s Cup after a last-gasp 1-0 win over Tunisia in the final at Cairo’s Arab Contractors Stadium on Monday night.
Maysa Jbarah, who had scored twice in the semifinal win over Egypt, once again proved the hero, scoring the winning goal in stoppage time just when it looked like the teams would not be separated.
For the gallant Tunisians, it was heartbreaking to lose a match they put so much effort into, but for the Jordanians, there were wild celebrations at the final whistle.
This was only the second time that the Arab Women’s Cup – organized by the Union of Arab Football Association (UAFA) – was held for senior national teams, the first being in 2006 when Algeria beat Morocco 1-0 in Alexandria.
On Friday, Jordan reached the final after beating Egypt 5-2 in the first of the competition’s semifinals, while Tunisia overcame Algeria 4-3 in a penalty shootout after normal time had finished in a 2-2 draw later that day.
Earlier in the seven-team tournament, Egypt won Group A with seven points, with Tunisia finishing second with five points to join the hosts in the semifinals. Lebanon and Sudan finished third and fourth.
Meanwhile, Jordan finished second in the three-team Group B to progress to the last four with Algeria, with Palestine coming last in the group with no points.