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Iraq’s dream run continues


ludhianvi

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This is a war torn country and still manages to reach the finals of the Asian cup, whereas India did not even qualify for it --------------------------------------------------------------------- Iraq’s dream run continues Beat South Korea on penalties to storm into final

Kuala Lumpur, July 25 Iraq reached their first Asian Cup final today, beating South Korea 4-3 on penalties in a pulsating semifinal that ended goalless after extra time. Noor Sabri was Iraq's hero when he saved Korea's fourth spot-kick from Yeom Ki-hun. After Ahmed Menajed had made it 4-3 to the West Asians, Korean Kim Jung-woo hit the post to send the Iraqi players into raptures. "It was a great game," Iraq coach Jorvan Vieira told a news conference. "The game was 50:50 but we missed more opportunities than them. We were tired too, but Korea were more tired than us." It was the vanquished side's second penalty shootout in four days, having overcome Iran 4-2 in Sunday's quarterfinal after another goalless 120 minutes. Iraq began the tournament as outsiders after having to train and play qualifiers in neighbouring countries because of the war in their homeland. The Iraqis went into today’s match in confident mood having topped qualifying Group A in which they beat a fancied Australia. Korea, who last won the Asian Cup in 1960, were runners-up in Group D behind Saudi Arabia, but had shown great resilience in overcoming Iran in the quarters. Verbeek's team produced their performance of the tournament against Iraq, but again their three-man attack failed to produce a goal for the second straight match. Showing brilliant individual skills, Iraq dominated the first half but 2002 World Cup semifinalists Korea hit back strongly after the break, though they wasted several chances to knock Iraq out of their stride. Despite weary legs tiring further on a sodden pitch, both sides continued to work hard in extra time and their willingness to attack resulted in tense goalmouth action at both ends.

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And they win the Asian Championships ------------------------------------------------

Asian Cup Victory brings rare unity in Iraq

Baghdad, July 30 Iraq erupted in joy and celebratory gunfire on Sunday when the country's national football squad won the Asian Cup and united its bitterly divided communities in a rare moment of celebration. Thousands of Iraqis, including members of the security forces, defied a strict government ceasefire order to welcome the team's 1-0 victory over local rivals Saudi Arabia with an intense barrage of gunfire. Soldiers, police and civilian gunmen loosed off long volleys of automatic fire skywards and into the waters of the Tigris within seconds of the final whistle in Jakarta beamed live to cafes and homes across the country. The Iraqi victory against the three-time Asian Cup champions was a precious moment of shared national joy in a country beset by civil strife. "Now it is our right to enjoy this victory that our heroic team has brought to us. They have brought us joy that we never experienced in the past, when we suffered greatly," said Haidar Mustafa, a Baghdad student. Around him in a downtown coffee shop, dozens of fans leapt and sang with joy after seeing skipper Younis Mahmoud's powerful header seal a first Asian Cup victory for his mixed team of Sunni Arabs, Shiite Arabs and Kurds. From the southern Shiite port city of Basra, to executed Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein's northern hometown of Tikrit and even to Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region, flag-waving crowds celebrated. Earlier, Baghdad security authorities had imposed an overnight vehicle curfew in order to prevent insurgent car bomb attacks and ordered police to arrest anyone who took part in the traditional celebratory gunfire. In the hours leading up to the match there were reports that two foreign Arab fighters had been apprehended while trying to move car bombs into Baghdad's Zayuna district, which has been targeted by Sunni extremists. Zayuna was struck by one of two car bombs that went off following last week's semi-final victory against South Korea, shattering the celebrations and killing at least 50 people. A senior interior ministry official strongly advised Iraqis to hold their celebratory fire and to stay in their own areas of the city. Nevertheless, troops and cops were among the first to start pumping out rounds from their AK-47 assault rifles and Glock pistols at checkpoints and barracks in the centre of the war-torn capital. — AFP

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