Iraq 1 – Taliban 0 (Al-Qaeda 300,000)

DO the Taliban have a football team? They would be very attack minded – think Ossie Ardiles’ “Flying V” at Spurs. They wold enver accept defeat, at least not in public. Neil Warnock could manage:

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Iraq completed one of sport’s great fairytales by beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the Asian Cup final on Sunday to provide a rare moment for celebration in their war-torn homeland.

The Saudis had been bidding to become the first four-times winners of the tournament but Iraq, riding a wave of global sentiment, upset the hot-favourites for a rare slice of sporting glory.
Photo

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 Saudi net.

When the final whistle sounded, the Iraq players collapsed to the ground in a mixture of shock and an unbridled emotion, kissing the turf and embracing each other after their country’s finest sporting moment.

Anorak

Posted: 29th, July 2007 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink