Celebrations as Iraq reach final

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DOHA, Qatar -- Iraq pulled off a shock 1-0 win over South Korea on Tuesday to reach the Asian Games soccer final, while host nation Qatar scored a famous 2-0 victory over defending champions Iran in the other semifinal.

"It was a very good victory for us. You can call anyone in Iraq and you will hear the celebrations," said skipper Khalef, who will miss Friday's final after picking up his second yellow card.

"This is a simple gift from us to the people of Iraq."

The underdogs beat the heavily-fancied Koreans by virtue of Samer Mujbel's 24th minute header.

A swift counter-attack caught the Korean defense upfield and when captain Younes Khalef's shot was blocked on the line Mujbel was on hand to head home.

It was the first goal conceded by Korea in five games and their misery was compounded when defender Kim Chi-woo was shown the red card in the final minute.

Iraqi players hugged each other and danced as hundreds of flag-waving Iraqi fans went wild with joy in the stands at the Al-Gharrafa stadium.

"I thank God for the victory," Iraqi coach Yahya Manhel told reporters. "Our team is exhausted after playing eight matches. The Korean team played very well, but we could stop them with a good strategy."

Korea's Dutch coach Pim Verbeek praised the spirit of the Iraqi team, putting the defeat down to poor finishing.

"We should have scored the first goal, then we would have had no problems," he said.

Uruguay-born Sebastian Quintana put Qatar ahead in the 28th minute against Iran, capping a flowing move down the right wing by lashing a left-foot shot past Iranian goalkeeper Hassan Roudbarian.

Fellow striker Hussain Abdulrahman sealed the win with a goal in the 74th minute to end Iran's hopes of a comeback and send 10,000 home fans into a frenzy.

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