Iraq squad reach quarterfinals
ATHENS, Greece -- Iraq's fairytale campaign continued as they followed their shock win over Portugal by securing their place in the Olympic quarterfinals with a 2-0 defeat of Costa Rica.
Although the wealthy powerhouse teams are gathering, Iraq now fears no one on the soccer field.
A 2-0 victory over Costa Rica after a 4-2 beating of one of the favorites, Portugal, means that Iraq has maximum points.
They are in the last eight no matter what happens in the final group game against Morocco.
"This success is very important for our people and our country because we are facing a difficult situation," said Hawar Mulla Mohammed, who scored the first against Tunisia and then set up the second for Mahdi Karim.
"We had no facilities and fields to train for a long period but we managed to qualify for the next stage of the Olympic tournament. I am very happy for this achievement. It was an accomplishment of team work under the contribution of our coach."
Iraq was unable to play any of its qualifying games for either the Olympics or Asian Cup on home turf because of the war and subsequent violence in its own country.
But the story goes back even further.
In May, Iraq clinched an Olympic soccer berth just three months after the country was reinstated by the International Olympic Committee following a nine-month absence. Iraq's Olympic Committee was previously run by Saddam Hussein's son, Odai, who tortured players when they fell out of favor.
Coach resigned
Two months after qualifying, the team's German coach, Bernd Stange, resigned, saying authorities told him to leave for his safety. It is now run by Adnan Hamad.
"We're delighted by the victories because we know what it means to our people," Hamad said through an interpreter.
If Iraq avoids defeat against Morocco in Patras on Wednesday, it will make sure it doesn't meet gold medal favorite Argentina in the quarterfinal. That's assuming Argentina doesn't lose to Australia in Athens on Tuesday.
After beating Serbia-Montenegro 6-0 and Tunisia 2-0, Marcelo Bielsa's men are unlikely to slip up against the Socceroos even though Frank Farina's team beat Serbia 5-1 and is two points behind.
Italy and Portugal, who fancy themselves as title contenders, are also back in contention after winning games on Sunday.
Alberto Gilardino scored twice as Italy beat Japan 3-2 in a thriller in Volos to revive its chances of winning the gold medal for the first time in 68 years. Japan was knocked out after two high-scoring and thrilling losses.
"This game was very different from the first match against Ghana (a 2-2 tie)," said Gilardino, who took his tally in the tournament to three having scored 23 times for Parma in Serie A last season.
"We played much better in the first half but, in the second, our performance got worse."
Ghana came from behind to beat Paraguay 2-1 in Thessaloniki with Stephen Appiah, who plays in Italy for Juventus, scoring the winner six minutes from the end.
"We were losing 1-0 and we realized we were going to lose the game, so we had to do something," Appiah said. "Fortunately we made it. The point is, we never gave up."
Appiah's winner means that Italy and Ghana are tied with four points at the top of the group and Paraguay has three. On Wednesday, Italy meets Paraguay in Athens and Ghana faces the eliminated Japanese in Volos.
Helped by a goal from Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal downed Morocco 2-1 in Heraklion, Crete, and now have a good chance of finishing runner up to Iraq in Group D. It's last group game is against Costa Rica which has just one point from two games.
