Iraq and Saudi Arabia through to final

Persopress-The Asian cup final will kick off on July 29th, 2007 with two of West Asia's best teams, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. After beating Vietnam in the Quarterfinals Iraq came up to play South Korea the favorites of the match. We had previously seen Iraq beat Australia in an impressive 3-1 win but it was surprising to see them in the Finals of this tournament. The Iraqis started the first 15 minutes of the match with a good start as they constantly attacked the Korean defense. As the Iraqis wore out we saw the Koreans step up to the plate and create one or two chances but the first half turned out even. The second half was fairly similar as both teams attacked but there were no goals and the game had to go into extra time. The problem with the Iraqi players were that they were getting amazing chances but no one was passing in the penalty box as the Iraqi players all wanted to score themselves. In Extra time Iraq had the upper hand as they had one or two amazing chances but could not convert as the Korean defense would get very lucky to tap the ball inches away from the net. The game would have to go to penalties with the game all tied up at 0-0. Both the Iraqis and Koreans scored their first 3 penalties but on the fourth, Korean Player Yeom shot a poor shot as it was tapped out by Iraqi goal keeper Sabri. Ahmed Mnajed then scored for Iraq but Kim Jung-woo’s final attempt for the Koreans hit the right post as the Iraqis gained their spot in the Asian Cup finals for the first time.

The Saudis defeated 2 time in row Asian Cup Champions Japan in the Asian Cup 2007 Semifinals. The Saudis gained the lead in the 35'th with Yasser Al-Qahtani's shot which deflected of Nakazawa leg only to go in the net. Only two minutes later Nakazawa ran passed Endo to convert in the 37th minute. Malek Maaz the man of the match netted a beautiful goal after running past Nakazawa and Yuki Abe to head Ahmed Al Bahari wonderful cross from the right. Again 5 minutes later Yuki Abe netted an acrobatic scissor kick into the back of the Saudis net. For the second time Japan had canceled out the Saudi but the draw only lasted 4 minutes as Malek Maaz scored for the second time after dribbiling in the penalty box and shooting past goalkeeper Kawaguchi to give the Saudis the lead they needed to book them a spot in the Finals. Japan had one final chance in the 75th as substitute Naotake Hanyu send a roaring shot from long range to hit the corner post and to keep the Saudis in front. The Score ended 3-2 and will give the Saudis a chance to be the first team to win 4 Asian Cup titles.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq will go at it on the 29th while Japan and South Korea will play the 3/4th place match on the 28th. Saudi Arabia will probably be seen as the favorites but there is no way any one can predict what can happen between these two teams. A win for Iraq would be their first Asian Cup Championship while for the Saudis it would be their fourth. The Japan and South Korea match will be to see who will take 3rd or 4th place thus not allowing Korea or Japan to take the first place title.