2007 AFC Asian Cup Final

2007 AFC Asian Cup Final

Event	2007 AFC Asian Cup
Iraq Saudi Arabia 1 0
19:35
Date	29 July 2007
Venue	Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta
Man of the Match	Nashat Akram (Iraq)
Referee	Mark Shield (Australia)
Attendance	60,000
Weather	Clear 30 °C (86 °F) 45% humidity

The AFC Asian Cup 2007 Final was a football match that took place on 29 July 2007 at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, to determine the winner of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Iraq defeated Saudi Arabia 1–0 with a goal from Younis Mahmoud. This victory secured Iraq's first Asian Cup title^[1][2] and completed what is regarded as one of sport's greatest fairytales.^[3][4] Younis Mahmoud got the only goal in the game, a header from a corner in the 73rd minute,^[5][6] and this win saw Iraq qualify for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.

The tournament's closing ceremony was held immediately prior to kickoff.

Background

The final was played between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iraq, coached by Brazilian Jorvan Vieira, qualified for the final after topping their group thanks to draws with Thailand and Oman either side of an emphatic 3–1 win against tournament favourites Australia. A 2–0 quarter-final win over co-hosts Vietnam followed before they defeated South Korea in a penalty shootout in the semi-final to qualify for their first ever Asian Cup final. Saudi Arabia, also led by a Brazilian coach (Hélio dos Anjos), topped Group D before 2–1 and 3–2 wins over Uzbekistan and Japan respectively in the quarter-final and semi-final stages saw them into the final. For Iraq, victory would bring its first ever Asian Cup title, whereas Saudi Arabia were hoping for their fourth title. Iraq were the underdogs, with the war-torn nation almost pulling out of the game after a suicide bomber killed 30 football fans who were celebrating the semi-final win over South Korea,^[7] but were helped by the millions of Iraqis around the world who supported the team in their effort to complete the cup.

Route to the final

Iraq		Round	Saudi Arabia
Opponent	Result	Group stage	Opponent	Result
Thailand	1–1	Match 1	South Korea	1–1
Australia	3–1	Match 2	Indonesia	2–1
Oman	0–0	Match 3	Bahrain	4–0
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Iraq 3 1 2 0 4 2 +2 5  Australia 3 1 1 1 6 4 +2 4  Thailand 3 1 1 1 3 5 −2 4  Oman 3 0 2 1 1 3 −2 2		Final standing	Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Saudi Arabia 3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 7  South Korea 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4  Indonesia 3 1 0 2 3 4 −1 3  Bahrain 3 1 0 2 3 7 −4 3
Opponent	Result	Knockout stage	Opponent	Result
Vietnam	2–0	Quarterfinals	Uzbekistan	2–1
South Korea	0–0 (4–3 pen.)	Semifinals	Japan	3–2

^[8]

Match

Summary

Iraq dominated the first half of the match, and had chances to score through Qusay Munir and Younis Mahmoud before Karrar Jassim's shot was saved after a mazing run through the Saudi defence. Saudi Arabia's first real chance was a long-range shot from Taisir Al-Jassim in the second half which was well-saved by Noor Sabri. The Saudis survived a scare when Younis Mahmoud and Nashat Akram both had close-range efforts saved in quick succession by Yasser Al Mosailem. Saudi Arabia struggled to deal with Nashat Akram's close control and creativity in midfield as he carved out a number of chances for the eventual champions, and the deadlock was broken on 73 minutes when Younis Mahmoud sent Hawar Mulla Mohammed's corner looping over a flailing Al Mosailem and into the back of the net with a header to send the Iraqi fans wild and put them within touching distance of a remarkable victory. Despite taking the lead, Iraq continued to attack the Saudi goal with Nashat playing Younis through on goal with a delightful pass only for the striker to slide the ball right at the Saudi 'keeper, wasting a chance to put the game to bed. For all their domination, Iraq were left holding their breath in injury time when Saudi Arabia striker Malek Maaz's header bounced just over the crossbar, but the final whistle blew soon after to signify that the Lions of Mesopotamia had won the Asian Cup for the first time.^[9]

After the match, Nashat Akram was named the "most valuable player" of the game, with Younis Mahmoud receiving the award for "most valuable player" of the tournament and sharing the top scorer award with Yasser Al-Qahtani and Naohiro Takahara.^[10] The Iraqi team, a mixture of Sunni, Shia and Kurdish players, received international acclaim as they helped unite the people of a fractured, war-torn nation and bring them happiness that they so rarely get to enjoy. Iraq's manager Jorvan Vieira said he was proud of how the players won the cup with such little preparation and without being allowed to play national games in their own country but also announced that he was stepping down as Iraq manager after the victory.^[11]

Details

Iraq  v  Saudi Arabia

29 July 2007 19:30

Iraq	1 – 0	Saudi Arabia
Mahmoud  73'	Report

Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Mark Shield (Australia)

Iraq	Saudi Arabia

GK 22 Noor Sabri DF 2 Jassim Mohammed Ghulam DF 3 Bassim Abbas  89' MF 5 Nashat Akram FW 10 Younis Mahmoud (c)  38' MF 11 Hawar Mulla Mohammed MF 13 Karrar Jassim  24'  83' DF 14 Haidar Abdul-Amir DF 15 Ali Rehema  75' MF 18 Mahdi Karim  90' MF 24 Qusay Munir  9' Substitutions: FW 16 Ahmad Mnajed  83' MF 7 Ali Abbas  89' MF 8 Ahmad Abid Ali  90' Manager: Jorvan Vieira

GK 1 Yasser Al Mosailem  43' DF 3 Osama Hawsawi DF 7 Kamel Al-Mousa FW 9 Malek Mouath MF 14 Saud Khariri  15' DF 15 Ahmed Al-Bahri  84' MF 16 Khaled Aziz FW 17 Taisir Al-Jassim  76' MF 18 Abdulrahman Al-Qahtani  46' DF 19 Waleed Jahdali  38' MF 20 Yasser Al-Qahtani (c) Substitutions: MF 30 Ahmed Al-Mousa  46' MF 28 Abdoh Otaif  76' FW 11 Saad Al-Harthi  84' Manager: Hélio dos Anjos

Celebrations of Iraqis in London.

See also

• Sports and politics

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References

International association football FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Cup U-17 U-20 Confederations Cup Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings Player of the Year Ballon d'Or Asia AFC – Asian Cup U-23 U-19 U-16 U-14 Regional (ASEAN, EAFF, SAFF, WAFF) Africa CAF – Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 Regional (CECAFA, CEMAC, COSAFA, WAFU) North America, Central America and the Caribbean CONCACAF – Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15 South America CONMEBOL – Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15 Oceania OFC – Nations Cup U-20 U-17 Europe UEFA – European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 Non-FIFA NF-Board – Viva World Cup CONIFA - ConIFA World Football Cup ConIFA European Football Cup IGA - Island Games Games All-Africa Games Asian Games Central America Central America and Caribbean East Asian Games Francophonie Games Indian Ocean Island Lusophony Games Mediterranean Games Pan American Games Pan Arab Games Pacific Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games See also Geography Debuts Codes Player of the Century Achievements by nation Women's football