Iraq's U-23 Football Team Qualifies for the Olympics

Iraq's U-23 football team qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics by defeating Saudi Arabia. The team secured the last Asian spot for the Olympics with a 3-1 victory over Saudi Arabia, and the result of this match, held in Amman, the capital of Jordan, led to celebrations across Baghdad. Iraq, placed in Group C, advanced to the Olympics with a better goal difference than Oman after a goalless draw between Kuwait and Oman. Iraq, which had recently been reinstated by FIFA in February, joined Japan and South Korea as the other Asian teams participating in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Iraq and Oman both finished with 9 points in Group C (Iraq with a better goal difference), while Kuwait had 8 points and Saudi Arabia finished last with 6 points. Reports from Baghdad indicate that after the match and the announcement of the result, celebratory gunfire could be heard in the city center. Earlier in Seoul, South Korea's Kim Do-hoon scored the only goal in the match against Iran's U-23 team. South Korea qualified for the Olympics with 18 points from Group A, while Iran finished with 9 points after South Korea. The other two teams in this group were China and Malaysia.