 Gelora Bung Karno Stadium hosted the final | |||||||
| Event | 2007 AFC Asian Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 29 July 2007 | ||||||
| Venue | Gelora Bung Karno Stadium,Jakarta | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Nashat Akram (Iraq) | ||||||
| Referee | Mark Shield (Australia) | ||||||
| Attendance | 60,000 | ||||||
| Weather | Clear 30 °C (86 °F) 45%humidity | ||||||
←2004 2011 → | |||||||
The2007 AFC Asian Cup Final was a football match that took place on 29 July 2007 at theGelora Bung Karno Stadium inJakarta,Indonesia, to determine the2007 AFC Asian Cup champion.Iraq defeatedSaudi Arabia 1–0 with aYounis Mahmoud header fromHawar Mulla Mohammed's corner in the 73rd minute sealing the victory.[1][2][3]
This was Iraq's first appearance in the final of an Asian Cup, while Saudi Arabia had appeared in five of the previous six Asian Cup finals, winning three of them (1984,1988 and1996). This final was only the second all-Arab final in the tournament's history, after 1996.
Iraq had reached the final against expectations, with the team being forced to train outside of their war-torn country and suffering from transport problems and a lack of facilities. After eliminatingSouth Korea in the semi-finals, Iraq almost pulled out of the final when two bomb attacks targeted celebrating fans and killed at least 50 people, but they decided to play on after a grieving mother said she would not bury her deceased son unless the team won the title.[4]
The result saw thousands of Iraqis spilling onto the streets to celebrate the victory, and the win helped to unite the people of the nation. Iraq's achievement is seen as one of international football's greatest underdog stories and one of the sport's greatest fairytale victories.[5][6][7] The win saw Iraq qualify for the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup inSouth Africa. The tournament's closing ceremony was held immediately prior to kickoff.
The final was played betweenIraq andSaudi Arabia. Iraq, coached byBrazilianJorvan Vieira, qualified for the final after topping their group where they earned an emphatic 3–1 win against tournament favouritesAustralia. A 2–0 quarter-final win over co-hostsVietnam followed before they defeatedSouth Korea in a penalty shootout in the semi-final. Saudi Arabia, also led by a Brazilian coach (Hélio dos Anjos), topped Group D before 2–1 and 3–2 wins overUzbekistan andJapan respectively in the quarter-final and semi-final stages saw them into the final. For Iraq, victory would bring its first ever Asian Cup title, whereas Saudi Arabia were playing for their fourth title.
After their semi-final victory, two bomb attacks deliberately targeted celebrating Iraqi fans inBaghdad and killed at least 50 people.[8] The Iraq team held a meeting to discuss whether they should pull out of the final to avoid more potential bloodshed, but they decided to play on after a grieving mother appeared on television and said she would not bury her deceased son unless the team returned home as champions.[9]
Before the game, the record between the two sides was 12 wins for Iraq, 7 wins for Saudi Arabia and 9 draws. Iraq's most recent victories had come in the form of 5–1 and 2–0 victories at the2005 West Asian Games and a 2–1 win at the2004 AFC Asian Cup, meanwhile Saudi Arabia defeated Iraq 1–0 in the1996 AFC Asian Cup and had also won the most recent match between the teams with a controversial 1–0 win in the18th Arabian Gulf Cup earlier in 2007.[10]
Among the players in the2007 AFC Asian Cup squads, the following played in the2004 meeting which Iraq won 2–1:
| Previous appearance of players from the teams | |
|---|---|
| 2004 |
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| Iraq | Round | Saudi Arabia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Thailand | 1–1 | Match 1 |  South Korea | 1–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Australia | 3–1 | Match 2 |  Indonesia | 2–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Oman | 0–0 | Match 3 |  Bahrain | 4–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group A winner
| Final standings | Group D winner
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| Opponent | Result | Knockout stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Vietnam | 2–0 | Quarter-finals |  Uzbekistan | 2–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Korea | 0–0 (aet) (4–3pen.) | Semi-finals |  Japan | 3–2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The match ball for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup Final, announced on 15 May 2007, wasNike'sMercurial Veloci.[12] The ball features four blue streaks with gold coloured trim with each host city's name inscribed, as well as the logo of the AFC Asian Cup.
Mark Shield, fromAustralia, was named as the referee of the final, together withTurkmen Begench Allaberdiyev andMaldivian Mohamed Saeed as the assistant referees, andKuwaitiSaad Kamil Al-Fadhli asfourth official. Earlier in the 2007 Asian Cup, Shield took charge of the South Korea–Saudi Arabia andIndonesia–South Korea matches in the group stage. He had previously taken charge of thesecond leg of the2006 AFC Champions League Final as well as matches in the2002 FIFA World Cup, the2004 AFC Asian Cup and the2006 FIFA World Cup.
Both teams named unchanged starting line-ups from their semi-finals. Iraq dominated the first half of the match, and had chances to score throughQusay Munir andYounis Mahmoud beforeKarrar Jassim's shot was saved after a mazing run through the Saudi defence. Saudi Arabia's first significant chance was a long-range shot fromTaisir Al-Jassim in the second half which was saved byNoor Sabri. The Saudis survived a scare when Younis Mahmoud andNashat Akram both had close-range efforts saved in quick succession byYasser Al Mosailem. Saudi Arabia struggled to deal with Nashat Akram's creativity in midfield as he made a number of chances for Iraq. The deadlock was broken on 73 minutes when Hawar Mulla Mohammed's corner sailed over Al Mosailem and was met with a header from Younis Mahmoud. After taking the lead, Iraq continued to attack and almost doubled their advantage when Mahmoud was played through on goal by Akram, but the striker's effort was saved by Al Mosailem. Iraq were left holding their breath in injury time when Saudi Arabia strikerMalek Mouath's header bounced just over the crossbar, but the final whistle blew moments later to signify that the Lions of Mesopotamia had won the Asian Cup for the first time.[13]
After the match, Nashat Akram was named the Most Valuable Player of the match, with Younis Mahmoud receiving the award for Most Valuable Player of the tournament and sharing the top scorer award withYasser Al-Qahtani andNaohiro Takahara.[14] The Iraqi team, a mixture of Sunni, Shia and Kurdish players, received international acclaim as they helped unite the people of a fractured, war-torn nation in celebration. Iraq's manager Jorvan Vieira said he was proud of how the players won the cup in spite of their limited preparation but also announced that he was stepping down as Iraq manager after the victory.[15]
Iraq  | 1–0 |  Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
Mahmoud 73' | Report |
        Iraq |      Saudi Arabia |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
| Overall | Iraq | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 1 | 0 |
| Total shots | 14 | 5 |
| Ball possession | 52% | 48% |
| Yellow cards | 4 | 2 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
The Iraqi team, a mixture of Sunnis, Shias and Kurds, received worldwide acclaim for becoming continental champions from a background of bloodshed and violence and helping to unite a fractured nation.[16]
Football commentatorSimon Hill described it as "unbelievable" and one of football's greatest fairytale victories, noting that the team had been without a coach until two months before the tournament and had experienced troubles with travel and training.[17] Waleed Tabra, media officer for the national team, said that he couldn't find the words to describe the joy brought on by the win, describing it as the "biggest win the nation has ever had" and noting that the victory allowed people who were living in hardship to celebrate "far away from politics".[18]
Iraq midfielderNashat Akram, who expressed after the game that there is "only one Iraqi people" and that the win was for them, described the poor conditions and preparations that the Iraqi team faced before the tournament, revealing that he had already booked tickets home in anticipation that Iraq would be eliminated in the group stage.[19] British football journalistJames Montague has since described it as the best achievement in international football history due to the difficult conditions experienced by the players and the significance of the victory for the country.[20]
