Qatar player stuns fans with card trick celebration as he bags hat-trick of penalties in Asian Cup final

Akram Afif was quite literally magic for Qatar in the Asian Cup final.

The Al Saad winger scored a hat-trick of penalties in a 3-1 victory over Jordan, making it back-to-back tournament wins for Qatar.

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Afif was Qatar’s hat-trick hero and impressed with a card trickCredit: Getty
Hosts Qatar starred throughout the tournament – winning all seven of their games as favourites Japan and South Korea stumbled.

And it was Afif who stole the show, finishing the tournament as top scorer on eight goals.

Following his first spot-kick, the 27-year-old showed off a rather unique celebration, pulling a card out of his sock which seemed to have a picture of him on it.

Waving it side to side, it then suddenly changed to the letter S, reportedly in tribute to his wife.

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The neat trick may have left some viewers confused, but when he went to do it again after his second, he gave everything away.

Afif botched the second attempt, revealing that half of the card was bent over and flipped to reveal the S.

Not that he’ll mind, though, as there was more to come.

Afif then won and scored a third penalty in injury time, earning legendary status by becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in an Asian Cup final.

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Afif had his card on show after breaking the deadlockCredit: SSQ

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An it changed into his wife’s initial in a flashCredit: SSQ

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Afif has become the first player to score a treble in am Asian Cup finalCredit: Getty
But it was his nifty tricks that sent social media into meltdown, as one X user said: “Qatar’s Akram Afif with one of the coldest celebrations you’ll ever see.”

Another commented: “This is one of the greatest celebrations you’ll ever see.”

A third added: “Qatar’s Akram Afif with magical celebrations.”

This fan posted: “That Akram Afif celebration was pure ice cold.”

Meanwhile another simply stated: “Akram Afif’s celebration is so dope.”