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By Challiss McDonough
Three generations of one family erupt in joy. Emad Mohammed has scored the only goal of the game against Australia in the Olympic men's soccer quarterfinal.
Thirty tense minutes later, the final whistle blows and the real celebrations begin. Minibuses full of cheering young men cruise the streets, waving Iraqi flags. Radio stations play patriotic sporting-victory songs.
And all over Baghdad, Iraqis celebrate the way they always do, with guns.
The head of the household, Abu Mohammed, grabs his AK-47 and runs outside to join his neighbors and relatives, shooting into the air in jubilation.
Nobody expected the Iraqi soccer team to do so well. A year ago, Iraq was still suspended from playing in the Olympics. Violence has kept the team from being able to play at home. Their German coach quit three months ago after getting death threats.
But against all odds, the Iraqis have kept winning. First they beat Portugal, then Costa Rica. A loss to Morocco was not enough to dislodge the team from the top spot in their group, and this victory over Australia puts Iraq just two matches away from a possible medal.
Abu Mohammed says the team's unlikely success has inspired the entire nation. "Winning this game lets Iraqis feel happy, and removes the gloom. I think it should unify us," he says. "This is a good chance to forget our troubles and think of the future."
Victory in the quarterfinal means Iraq will have a real chance at a medal. Iraq has only won one Olympic medal before, in the 1960 weightlifting competition.
But whether they win or lose the next match, for most Iraqis, the soccer players are already heroes.
Challiss McDonough, VOA News, Baghdad.
注释：
Soccer 足球
Quarterfinal四分之一决赛
generation一代, 一代人
tense紧张的
whistle口哨,口哨声
cruise 巡游
patriotic爱国的
Baghdad巴格达(伊拉克首都)
jubilation庆祝
suspend 暂停参赛资格
Portugal葡萄牙(欧洲西南部国家)
Costa Rica哥斯达黎加
Morocco摩洛哥
dislodge驱逐
victory胜利
gloom 阴暗, 阴沉
unify (使)统一
weightlifting举重 |