Iraq Wins Football’s Asian Cup

Iraq’s national soccer team beat three-time champion Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the Asian Cup finals in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sunday, as Iraq took safety precautions to prepare for a historic victory.

Iraqi authorities announced a ban on vehicles and celebratory gunfire around Baghdad in an effort to prevent a repeat of violence that killed dozens celebrating Iraq’s progress to Sunday’s finals of Asia’s top soccer tournament.

Government offices also told employees to go home early as the nation braced for anticipated massive street parties in the event of an Iraqi win against Saudi Arabia. A victory was expected to send thousands of people into the streets to celebrate — as they did after earlier games in the runup to the finals.

The office of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a statement that it had planned to send a Cabinet delegation to the game, but that it was not possible to organize a charter flight due to technical issues related to “the flight’s path and overflight permissions by countries through which the plane would have to cross en route to Jakarta.”

The statement did not single out any countries or give more details.

The jubilation over the ascension of the team known as the “Lions of the Two Rivers” to Sunday’s final in Jakarta, Indonesia, in the quarterfinals and semifinals gave Iraqis a rare respite from the daily violence. The victorious run sent men of all ages cheering and dancing in the streets in what politicians said was a show of unity that proved Iraqi factions could come together.

Source: CNN.