Iraq sent shockwaves through the continent by overcoming the likes of Australia and Korea Republic to storm into the final, where they overcame Saudi Arabia to lift the trophy. What were the driving forces behind the team’s success?
“Obviously we have a group of talented youngsters who have come of age. All these years we spent a lot of time training and playing together, and having gained enough international experience the team were in top form. Iraqi people have been going through a hard time and we wanted to make our suffering people happy so much. We also hoped to show the watching world that we, despite the pains and sufferings, are an optimistic people. I believe it was such a belief that carried us all the way through.”
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