Iraq won its 1^st ever Asian Cup title on Sunday as they defeated 3 time winners Saudi Arabia 1-0.

It was fitting that the lone goal came from captain and top striker, Younis Mahmoud, whose towering header at the back post (from an Iraqi corner) in the 71st min. was enough for the war-torn nation to lift the trophy.

The Iraqis showed the greater courage on the day as the Saudis looked a bit fatigued and lacked any real creativity to unlock a stingy Iraqi defense that only gave up 2 goals throughout the tournament.

Perhaps the only real downside to the beleaguered nation’s triumph was the fatalities that occurred after both their semifinal and final wins. As if the death toll in the Middle Eastern region wasn’t enough, excess celebratory gunfire and bombings also ended in loss of lives.

The country will now turn its attention to World Cup Qualifiers, but it seems Iraq will have to do without Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira, who has decided to call it quits having taken Iraq to an indescribable victory.

 

This entry was posted on Monday, July 30th, 2007 at 3:30 pm and is filed under Soccer World, Asian Cup 2007. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.