Posted on 07/29/2007 7:59:05 AM PDT by alligator
AKARTA (Reuters) - Iraq defied seemingly impossible odds to beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the Asian Cup final on Sunday, providing a fairytale ending to the tournament and a rare moment of celebration in their war-torn homeland.
Iraqi captain Younis Mahmoud scored the winner in the 71st minute when he climbed above the defence at the far post and headed a perfectly-weighted corner from Hawar Mulla Mohammed into the net.
Saudi Arabia had been bidding to become the first country to win the Asian Cup four times but were outplayed by an Iraqi team riding high on a wave of national support.
Iraq's unexpected victory not only captured the imagination of the sporting world but helped unify a country ravaged by war and ripped apart by sectarian violence.
(Excerpt) Read more at uk.reuters.com ...
Congratulations to Free Iraq!
IMHO this should be in Breaking News.
Outstanding!!! I can’t wait to see it. Ihope all Iraqis are happily sharing in this accomplishment. Please extend my heartfelt congratulations. And a big thank you to you and any coalition troops and support personnel there. You have played a part in enabling the Iraqis reach the goal of a lifetime. Anything is possible now. :-)
If the Iraqi people get their act together, then we will.
Soccer is not that big of a sport in the US and the MSM probably doesn't get the significance of the Asian Cup victory. Soccer is politics in most of the world. The rise of Iraq's soccer team (they did very well in the last olympics also) can only be attributed to our freeing their country, and many Iraqis realize this. In the coming years, this will likely be looked upon as a turning event. Cheers.
You are right. They just need to exercise some impulse control with their AKs.
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