Akram Afif performed a never-seen-before card trick celebration after he scored the opener for Qatar in their much-anticipated Asian Cup final clash against Jordan.
The 27-year-old, who plays his club football for Qatar Stars League side Al Sadd, won a penalty in the 22nd minute of Saturday's clash after being brought down by Abdallah Nasib,
Afif went on to net his sixth goal of the tournament with a composed finish from the spot, and in a moment that has since gone viral online, Qatar's number 11 celebrated with a magic trick.
After running over to the camera, he collected a card from his sock before shaking the card with his hand to reveal an ‘S’ – which was a tribute to his wife, according to beIN Sports.
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It's safe to say Afif's unique celebration inside the Lusail Stadium soon went viral.
Here's how fans on social media reacted to the celebration.
One said: "A magic trick celebration is insane," while another commented: "Doing magic tricks in an international final, what happened to taking your shirt off and celebrating wildly? We used to be a real sport."
A third wrote: "Out of all the cameras in the stadium he chose the slow-mo camera to pull this off," while a fourth added: "Akram Afif with one of the coldest celebrations of all time."
As a result of his goal against Jordan in the final, Afif is currently tied with Iraq's Aymen Hussein as the tournament's leading scorer as Qatar look to defend their title.
First-time finalists Jordan, meanwhile, beat overwhelming favourites South Korea on their way to the final, as goals from Yazan Al Naimat and Musa Tamari sealed a 2-0 win.
Jordan manager Hussein Ammouta was delighted with the semi-final victory. “We are growing more ambitious with every win and we must seize the initiative to win [the final],” he said.
Topics: Qatar
Jack Kenmare