Newz Forum: OLYMPICS: Underdog Iraq falls to Paraguay 3-1, will settle for chance at bronze

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) -- The Iraqi soccer team's improbable run at an Olympic gold medal ended Tuesday night with a 3-1 semifinal loss to Paraguay. The Iraqis still have a chance for a bronze, which would be their war-weary nation's first medal in 44 years.

Paraguay made history of its own, getting two goals from Jose Cardozo and one from Fredy Bareiro to advance to Saturday's gold-medal game against Argentina, a 3-0 winner over Italy. Gold or silver, it will be the first Olympic medal of any sort for Paraguay.

Iraq and Italy will play for the bronze Friday night.

Just qualifying for the Olympics was a feat for the Iraqis, who have been unable to play home games since war began in March 2003. They clinched a berth in May, just three months after their country was reinstated by the International Olympic Committee.

The team's first-round victories over Portugal and Costa Rica and quarterfinal win over Australia enchanted fans worldwide and gave beleaguered Iraqi citizens a rare cause for unified jubilation. Players said they were inspired by the support from home, but also sobered by knowledge of their compatriots' hardships.

The Iraqis played with pluck, forcing Paraguay goalkeeper Diego Barreto to make several acrobatic saves. But they could not contain Cardozo, at 34 one of the oldest players in the tournament.

Cardozo, a forward for Toluca in the Mexican League, opened the scoring at the 17th minute, taking a pass off his chest and, as an Iraqi defender tugged him down by his jersey, angling a low shot into the corner past Iraqi goalkeeper Nour Sabri.

He scored again 34 minutes into the half, ricocheting a shot off Sabri's leg into the net after the Iraqi defense relaxed, believing Cardozo would be called offsides.

Just moments earlier, Iraq had its best chance of the game, when midfielder Qusai Munir forced Paraguay goalie Diego Barreto to make a diving fingertip save.

Iraq applied intense pressure early in the second half, but Paraguay put the game out of reach on a counterattack. Sabri made a diving save, but the ball rebounded off the post into play, and Bareiro hammered home the close-range shot over the goalie's head.

Even down 3-0, the Iraqis persisted, and finally broke through in the 84th minute. Emad Mohammed slid a pass through the mostly effective Paraguay defense, and Razzaq Farhan beat Baretto with the shot.

The Paraguay fans on hand to celebrate were far outnumbered by hundreds of Iraqis, many of them expatriates living in Greece and elsewhere in Europe. They began their chants, songs and drum beats more than an hour before the game, and thrust their arms into the air in salute when their national anthem -- "My Country" -- played before the kickoff.

A bronze medal won by an Iraqi weightlifter in 1960 is the only medal in the country's history.