LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Akram Afif has produced some magical performances during the Asian Cup. And after firing Qatar into a 1-0 lead in Saturday’s final against Jordan, he did likewise with his celebration.
The forward scored his sixth goal of the tournament from the penalty spot at Lusail Stadium after being brought down by Abdallah Nasib in the first half.
After seeing the ball hit the back of the net, he decided to mark the moment with a close-up magic trick.
Running towards a camera, he pulled out a collectors’ card with his image on it. Shaking his hand, the picture changed to reveal an ‘S’.
It was not known what the ‘S’ represented.
But a slow-motion replay quickly gave the trick away, with images showing the card had a fold, which flipped over to change the image.
Afif has been one of the stars of the Asian Cup and his goal saw him move level with Iraq’s Aymen Hussein as the tournament’s leading scorer.
Host and defending champion Qatar was aiming to win back-to-back titles after last lifting the trophy in 2019.
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