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Iraq celebrations motivate soccer team for cup semis

Iraq forward Younis Mahmoud controls the ball during a training session in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Iraq will play against South Korea in an Asian Cup semi-final match today. PHOTO: EPA

Noor Sabri and his Iraqi teammates watched TV replays of the wild celebrations that their Asian Cup quarter-final win over Vietnam provoked in Baghdad on the weekend and it added to their resolve to go further.

If one thing unites Iraq's Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds amid the factional conflict that dominates their daily lives, it is seeing their national soccer team win.

Seeing "all our people in Iraq celebrating victory supports our morale and we hope to do it again," Sabri said on the eve of today's Asian Cup semi-final against South Korea.

"It's very important for us and for our people in Iraq -- all of the people in our country pay great attention to it," he said. "Now it is a very critical situation in Iraq ... victory in the semi-finals, this will bring great happiness to the people in Iraq."

Iraq toppled pre-tournament favorite Australia in the group stage and outclassed Vietnam in the first knock-out round to reach the Asian Cup semi-finals for the first time in three decades, ending a run of three consecutive quarter-final defeats in the continental championship.

Goalkeeper Sabri, who with striker Younis Mahmoud and midfielder Nashat Akram form the backbone of the team, credited coach Jorvan Vieira with developing a cohesive combination.

"I have nothing but praise for the coach. We had problems before ... [but] he managed to bring all together and unify the team."

Vieira said he had discovered during his 48 days with the team that the secret to uniting the collection of Iraqis was simple.

"Iraq people are like Brazilian people and everyone who loves football," he said.

TEAMWORK HOLDS KEY

Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura will not be thinking along individual lines when he lines up against Saudi Arabia in today's Asian Cup semi-finals.

The player of the season for Celtic in the Scottish league has decided he needs to do more for the players around him to give defending champion Japan any chance of making a third consecutive final.

"I want to focus more on teamwork by creating more chances for other players," he said.

Nakamura said Saudi Arabia has a lineup stacked with good players with fast attacking skills, which forced Japan into a rethink of its usual style of play.

He also acknowledged that after a quarter-final against Australia that was decided on penalties after extra time, his team was exhausted.

"But we will try our best to reach the end of the tournament," he said. "We are now used to the weather here."

Saudi Arabia has lost to Japan in all three of its Asian Cup meetings.
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