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PATRAS, Greece (AP) – In its first Olympic competition since its country was shattered by war, Iraq stunned star-studded Portugal 4-2 on Thursday in a gritty, come-from-behind victory as about 200 chanting fans cheered and jumped wildly.
After handing Portugal a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute through Haidar Jabar’s own goal, Iraq hit back within three minutes through striker Emad Mohammed.
Iraq was a surprise addition to the Olympic tournament. The nation managed to cobble together a team amid ongoing conflict at home and efforts to rebuild an Olympic committee that was previously run by Saddam Hussein’s late son, Odai, who allegedly ordered abuse and torture on players who fell out favor.
Things did not go well early for the Iraqis, who handed the first goal to Portugal in the 13th minute when defender Haidar Jabar accidentally kicked the ball into his own net as he tried to clear a pass by Cristiano Ronaldo. Three minutes later, however, striker Emad Mohammed tied the game after picking up a rebound from the goalkeeper, Moreira.
Iraq went ahead 2-1 in the 29th minute when Hawar Mulla Mohammed scored on a soft shot after dribbling past the goalkeeper, but Portugal tied it with a minute to go in the first half on a goal by Bosingwa.
Younis Mahmoud put Iraq ahead 3-2 in the 56th minute, and Salih Sadir scored during injury time to seal the victory.
In July, Iraq reached the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup that included a 2-1 win over regional soccer power Saudi Arabia.
Now it has to beat Group D rivals Costa Rica and Morocco, who tied 0-0 to reach the quarterfinal.
I have to believe that this victory, for them, was along the lines of the US hockey team defeating the soviets in 1980. That's great for them. I hope they go far, maybe even into the medal round.
Italian Paolo Bettini wins the Road Race by beating Portuguese Paolinho and third placed Axel Merckx.
It was a very exciting finish to an entertaining 5+ hours of cycling. With more than one lap to go of the 13 Bettini escaped along with Paolinho and made a gap of max 49 seconds. Eventually it was enough as 4th placed Erik Zabel finished just over 10 second.
So Bettini succeeds Jan Ullrich as Olympic Champion in the Road Race
No Sheraz Bhai, we have some chances. Our boxers are decent and the Hockey team has a good shot.
One of the boxers, I forget his name, had a really good shot to win something. But then he failed a drug test :)
I think he was trying to lose some weight quick before a competition or something
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*Originally posted by Sheraz CT: *
Michael phelps wins his first gold medal..now this guy might win 7 gold medals himself but our country can't even win one damn medal
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Phelps has just won his 2nd gold in the 200 fly. Missed out on his own WR by 0.1 sec.
did u see the marathon? That Brazilian guy got pushed over by some idiot while in the lead with only 5 kilometres to go. It was so unfair unto him. He did finish to grab 3rd place but I'm sure he wud have had a great chance for gold
yeah tht was kinda funny but sad for him. But there's no gurantee that he would have won if that guy would not have grabbed him for about ten seconds. He still had the lead when it was over and besides five kilometers isnt "only". It's actually a lot of distance at the end even in marathons.
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