Meindertsma was a relieved man when the final whistle blew.

“For me it was hard to keep focused and be calm because it could have finished in many ways,” he said. “But it was a good end for us this time around.

  

“When we were leading 1-0 we were the better team but then we lost a little bit of football in the game and gave DPR Korea an advantage, but it was still up and down in the first half.”

He admitted his side lost momentum after the break, and DPR Korea were “looking more fit than us and they were really strong.” 

“That was a problem but at the right moment we scored our second and locked the door a little,“ said the Dutch. “Our goalkeeper then gave away a penalty, and in the last 15 minutes we ran and fought for everything to get a good finish.”

The win leaves Jordan with three points following their 1-0 loss to Saudi Arabia in their opener and Group B will go down to the wire following Iraq's defeat of Saudi Arabia in the day's second match.

DPR Korea, who came back from a goal down to secure a 1-1 draw against Iraq in their first match, will now have to beat Saudi Arabia to stand a chance of advancing.