Qatar has won its second consecutive men's Asian Cup after beating Jordan 3-1 in the final in front of 86,492 spectators at Lusail Stadium.

Jordan was playing in its first Asian Cup final, but it was Qatar that prevailed via three penalties from Akram Afif.

Afif, who was thrown into the air repeatedly by his teammates after the final whistle, picked up the player-of-the-match award.

He was also named the tournament's most valuable player after scoring eight goals across all matches.

"I congratulate the Qatari people and players. We're so happy after winning this difficult game, the tension was high," Qatar coach Marquez Lopez said.

"Maybe we didn't play beautiful football today but everyone remembers the winner. I'm so happy for Akram, he deserved to win all the awards."

Qatar took the lead when Afif won a penalty in the 20th minute as he tried to skip past Abdallah Nasib, with the referee immediately pointing to the spot as Jordan coach Hussein Ammouta reacted furiously on the touchline.

The goal was the first Jordan conceded since its dramatic last-16 win over Iraq and Afif celebrated his strike by performing a card trick for the cameras, displaying the letter 'S'.

"'S' is the first letter of my wife's name, she's from Kuwait," Afif said.

"Today's match was her first in the stadium."

Jordan switched gears in the second half and pegged Qatar back as it began to find space behind the defence.

Yazan Al Arab nearly equalised with a sensational volley from a corner that was hit straight at the goalkeeper, while a back-heeled effort at the near post from Ali Olwan moments later went inches wide.

They finally found the equaliser midway through the second half when Yazan Al Naimat controlled a cross with a sublime first touch, escaping his marker to fire home an uncontested shot for his fourth of the tournament.

Parity lasted only six minutes, however, as Qatar won another penalty after a VAR check for a trip by Mahmoud Al Mardi, with Afif making no mistake from the spot.

With 13 minutes added on, Jordan tried its best to find an equaliser once again, but Qatar won a third penalty in stoppage time when Afif was brought down by goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila.

Afif kept his composure and stepped up one last time to put the match out of reach for Jordan.

"We weren't focused in the first half, and we made mistakes," Ammouta said.

 There were easy opportunities to score but we didn't. The timing of the two penalties (in the second half) was harsh.

"But I want to congratulate the players. They've gained confidence and opened horizons for the future. Maybe we can win in future tournaments."

The 2027 men's Asian Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia.

Reuters