His Majesty King Abdullah commended the excellent performance of the national football team in the second West Asian Football Championship which ended in Damascus on Saturday.

Jordan squandered a 2-0 lead and handed to Iraq a 3-2 win in the final match when Iraq scored the golden goal from a header in the dying minutes of extra time. Iraq got the $50,000 cash, Jordan settled for $25,000, whereas Iran took $15,000 after beating Syria for the 3rd place on penalties in the earlier match.

During a meeting at Beit Al Barakah Palace with members of the team, the coach and the administrative staff, King Abdullah hailed the high sports spirit of the team describing their accomplishment as a "qualitative leap" in Jordan's sports march.

During the meeting, which was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh and President of the Jordanian Football Association Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, King Abdullah paid tribute to team's Egyptian coach Mahmoud Juhary whose efforts have had a significant role in achieving this distinguished result.

It was the first time for Jordan in the final of the event and the first official assignment for the veteran Egyptian coach. JFA officials said they were satisfied with the teams performance during the championship.