Akram Afif scored a hat-trick of penalties to help Qatar defeat Jordan 3-1 in the Asian Cup final at Lusail Stadium.
The outcome made hosts Qatar the fifth Asian team to win back-to-back titles, following their victory in 2019.
Yazan Al-Naimat’s second-half goal leveled the game after Afif converted a first-half penalty.
However, Afif scored twice more from the penalty spot in the final stages after video assistance referee assessments, bringing his tournament total to eight goals.
Jordan had hoped to win the Asian Cup for the first time after defeating South Korea 2-0 in the semi-finals to reach their first final.
However, Qatar was awarded its first penalty kick of the game when Afif was brought down in the box by Abdallah Nasib after latching onto Lucas Mendes’ pass.
Afif scored in the bottom corner to cap a fantastic first half, but Jordan improved in the second half and deservedly restored parity when Ihsan Haddad’s pass was collected in stride by Yazan Al-Naimat, who skipped away from his marker before rifling a vicious drive past goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham.
Jordan remained level for barely six minutes, with Afif converting his second penalty of the game against the run of play after Ismaeel Mohammad was fouled by Mahmoud Al-Mardi.
Jordan fans’ hopes were buoyed when the fourth official signaled 13 minutes of extra time, but the video assistant referee gave Qatar their third penalty of the match when Afif was felled by goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila after beating Jordan’s offside trap.
Afif maintained his cool once more, sparking ecstatic scenes among the majority of spectators inside Lusail Stadium as Qatar became the first team to retain their Asian Cup title since Japan in 2004.