Iraq Beats Saudi Arabia To Win First Asian Cup Title
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Iraq won its first Asian Cup soccer title by beating three-time champion Saudi Arabia 1-0 in yesterday’s final in Indonesia.
Captain Younis Mahmoud headed home from a corner after 71 minutes at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, taking advantage of poor goalkeeping by Yaser Al Mosailem. Iraq’s defense achieved its fourth straight shutout of the tournament. Mahmoud and coach Jorvan Vieira dedicated the win to victims of the violence in Iraq, and the team’s players wore black armbands.
“My players had so much confidence and were so sure. They wanted to do something for their country,” Vieira said, according to Agence France-Presse. “We played very well and, to be honest, I am not happy with 1-0. We should have won 3-0.”
In Iraq, thousands of people including members of the security forces defied a government ceasefire order to welcome the victory with a barrage of gunfire, AFP said. Soldiers, police and civilian gunmen fired automatic weapons skywards and into the waters of the Tigris within seconds of the final whistle.
Earlier, Baghdad’s security authorities imposed an overnight vehicle curfew to prevent insurgent car bomb attacks and ordered police to arrest anyone who took part in the traditional gunfire celebration, AFP said.
Vieira said before the competition that every player in the Iraqi team had lost family or friends in sectarian violence at home.
Iraq, Asia’s ninth-ranked team, started the championship rated as a 50-1 outsider and upset pre-tournament favorite Australia 3-1 in the group stage. The Iraqis then beat co-host Vietnam in the quarterfinals before defeating two-time winner South Korea 4-3 in a penalty shootout to reach the final.
Iraq’s previous best performance was fourth place in 1976, while it lost in the quarterfinals at the past three tournaments. Saudi Arabia, which shared the previous six titles with Japan, had been trying to become the first team to win four Asian Cups.
Iraq’s Qusay Munir and Mahmoud had early chances in a rugged first half that produced five bookings by Australian referee Mark Shield. The Saudis came back before half-time and Yasser Al Qahtani’s shot was deflected over the crossbar.
