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Iraq's Salih Sadir (C) scores the fourth goal
against Portugal in their Athens 2004 Olympic Games group D men's
soccer match at Patra's Pampeloponissiako
stadium, August 12, 2004.
(Agencies) |
Iraq's footballers brought a
ray of comfort to the war-torn country by upsetting Portugal 4-2 in their
opening game of the Olympic men's soccer tournament on Thursday.
Striker Younis Mahmoud scored in the 56th minute to effectively settle
a bad-tempered match for Iraq, who overcame major hardship to reach the
quarter-finals of the Asian Cup in China last month.
"Everybody expected Portugal to win, not us," said Mahmoud. "But we
showed everyone we are a good team and that we can play good football and
pulled off a surprise."
The game was marred by
controversy, however, with Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo lucky to
escape with only a yellow card after a blatant elbow on Mahmoud in the 19th minute
that opened a nasty cut above the Iraqi forward's eye.
Ronaldo's team mate Luis Boa Morte was not so fortunate, the Fulham
striker being sent off for a wild lunge on Iraqi left back Bassim Abbas six
minutes into the second half.
Portugal, looking to restore some pride after their senior side were
stunned by Greece in the Euro 2004 final, took the lead in the 12th minute
in Patras thanks to an own goal from Haidar Jabar.
Iraq hit back to take a 2-1 lead through Emad Mohammed and Hawar
Mohammed, only for Portugal to equalize on the stroke of halftime when
Porto midfielder Jose Bosingwa volleyed home from the edge of the box.
But Iraq, forced to share a training pitch with grazing sheep in
Baghdad, again demonstrated their resilience as the heavily bandaged Mahmoud
swept home an Emad Mohammed pass after springing the Portuguese offside
trap.
Substitute Salih Sadir added a fourth in injury time to complete
Portugal's misery.
In the other Group D match, Costa Rica were held to a goalless draw by
Morocco in Heraklio, Crete.
Meanwhile, Italy escaped a similar fate to Portugal as they fought back
from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw with Ghana in Group B.
Striker Alberto Gilardino pounced in the 83rd minute to earn Italy a
point after an absorbing game in Volos. Paraguay moved top of the group
with a 4-3 victory over Japan in Thessaloniki.
The men's soccer is an under-23 tournament with three over-age players
permitted per team. The Athens Olympics formally open Friday.
(Agencies) |