Whoever Wins: Both Win
Against all odds, two of our teams reached the final of the Asian Cup:
For me, today, it doesn't really matter who takes the Asian Cup home. Whoever wins, will in one way or the other, be a joy for me. The Cup, be it taken to Saudi Arabia or Iraq, will be a Cup brought home. But for some who will be watching, it matters who wins.
For the first time in the history of AFC Asian Cup, Iraq will play today in the final against the three-time Asian Cup winner Saudi Arabia for the region’s premier football crown in Jakarta, Indonesia. Against all odds, Iraq and Saudi Arabia have qualified to face each other in the final. In fact, many sport critics did not expect both teams to pass the semifinals and predicted other teams like Japan, South Korea, Australia and Uzbekistan to reach the final. Instead, Iraq — a country that is currently suffering from serious political problems — bulldozed all opponents to meet a high-scoring Saudi team that comprises new and inexperienced players.
For me, today, it doesn't really matter who takes the Asian Cup home. Whoever wins, will in one way or the other, be a joy for me. The Cup, be it taken to Saudi Arabia or Iraq, will be a Cup brought home. But for some who will be watching, it matters who wins.
Comments
It's too bad they do it by arbitrary land masses rather than cultures. You don't get to see Morocco playing Iraq, because they are on different land masses.
So I wonder, does this mean we'll see more advances by Arab states in the next Olympic football event?