Iraq's captain Younis Mahmoud celebrates after scoring against Saudi Arabia during their final match at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup soccer tournament at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta July 29, 2007. REUTERS/Kim
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 ...
Interesting bit about it... it was a game between two Brazilian-coached teams.
A well-deserved congratulations to team Iraq...and a big thank you! to all in the coalistion, without whom, this team never would have had this opportunity.
This story made my whole day
Besides, I get tired watching them run around like that. I ran in the Army. I did so much running I never have to run again to stay in shape. I am still burning calories. I can't watch people run around on a soccer field for that amount of time. Makes me burn calories faster.
Anyway, even with my bad opinion of Soccer, I still am very happy for the Iraqi's. It was very close game and must have been a fun one to watch.
Good news, indeed! Although not a soccer fan as it is more akin to being “riverdance with a ball.”
Soccer fans with full bladders can sometimes be seen praying for an injury.
Oh total BS....if Iraq was in the shape just stated we'd not be seeing a win like this. By the mire fact Iraq won tells the truth about Iraq. IT JUST AIN'T AS BAD AS THE MSM CONTINUES TO REPORT. THE PROOF OF THE WIN TELLS THE WORLD...IRAQ IS GETTING THERE VERY FAST.
Fox News just did a very moving report on the Iraqi win.
I hope you had a front row seat. I’m crying just thinking about it all and how much it must mean to the Irqui people...but you’ve been there for a very long time, through every up and low moment. This must be particularly gratifying (and emotional) for you. A special thank you, without all you are doing there, this team may never have seen a field.
Uday the Minuteman - Michael Moore.
Best part of it is that it was a clean score. No bogus penalty shot, no shootout, no ungiven off-sides, just a beautifully taken corner met by a clean header. Just perfect!
Within a week, every Saudi is going to believe that the CIA engineered the win to denigrate them.
WOOOOHOOOO!
Iraq's captain Younis Mahmoud celebrates after scoring against Saudi Arabia during their final match at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup soccer tournament at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta July 29, 2007. REUTERS/Kim
“looks like the iraqis are meeting their goooooooooooooooooooooooooals!”
“Iraqi Makes Their Goals” Will be tomorrow’s NY TImes, LA Times and WAPO headline.....
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA................Thud
I will be a significant victory on our end if the celebration in Iraq proceeds without any incidents. But can we guarantee that ?
The previous street-wide celebrations on entering the semi-finals a few days ago ended up with 50 dead.
Just keeping it real folks.
One Harry Reid image coming right up.
You know, I bet Hollywood will make a movie about this touching story. //Sarcasm off.
ping
I can see why.
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