Iraq's Karrar Jassim Mohammed and Vietnam's Nguyen Huy Hoang fight for the ball during their 2007 AFC Asian Cup quarter-final soccer match at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Saturday.

BANGKOK, Thailand, July 22--Two goals from skipper Younis Mahmoud saw Iraq defeat Vietnam 2-0 in the AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals at the Rajamangala Stadium on Saturday as the West Asian nation reached the final four of the continent’s premier competition for the first time since 1976.
As reported by AFC.com, Mahmoud opened the scoring with just two minutes gone but Vietnam rallied and kept the Iraqis at bay until the Al Gharafa striker curled home a 64th minute free-kick to seal the win.
Iraq coach Jorvan Vieira was without the suspended Qusay Muneer and fellow midfielder Saleh Sadir while defender Khaldoun Ibrahim dropped to the bench. Haitham Kadhim and Karrar Jassim Mohammed came into midfield and Haidar Abdul Amer started in place of the Iran-based stopper.
After going down 4-1 to Japan in their final group match Vietnam coach Alfred Riedl opted to start with two up-front as Binh Duong dangerman Nguyen Anh Duc came in for midfielder Phan Van Tai Em, who didn’t make the trip to Bangkok due to his wedding ceremony. Midfielder Phung Cong Minh came in for Nguyen Minh Chuyen while Chau Phong Hoa replaced Phung Van Nhien in defense.
Riedl had stated that his team were the underdogs and any hopes that Vietnam would cause an upset suffered a massive blow within 90 seconds when Mahmoud put Iraq one up with his second goal of the tournament, heading home a Nashat Akram free-kick curled in from the left.
Vietnam struggled to find a foothold and didn’t create anything until the 18th minute when Le Cong Vinh’s shot was blocked for a corner before the Song Lam Nghe Anh striker tested Noor Sabri a minute later with a long-range shot that was taken comfortably by the Iraq keeper.
In the 32nd minute Iraq were forced into making a substitution with Ahmad Abid Ali replacing Haitham Kadhim, who never fully recovered from a crunching tackle from Cong Minh four minutes earlier, which earned the combative 21-year-old the first yellow card of the match.
On the stroke of half-time Vietnam came close to drawing level when Nguyen Vu Phong burst through the centre and played a one-two with Phong Hoa but the Binh Duong winger’s drive across the area was cleared by substitute Ahmad Abid Ali before Cong Vinh could knock the ball home from close range.
Five minutes after the interval Ali Hussein Rehema was fortunate to escape a booking when he pulled down Cong Vinh and the Iraqis escaped further punishment when Noor Sabri palmed clear the resulting free-kick swung in by Vu Phong.
Iraq doubled their advantage in the 64th minute and again it came courtesy of Mahmoud as the 2006/07 Qatar League top scorer exquisitely swept home a free-kick, awarded after a foul on Karrar Jassim.
Mahmoud almost completed his hat-trick in the 78th minute but his downward header following Mahdi Karim’s cross from the right was kept out well by Duong Hong Son and the man of the match had to be content with taking his tournament tally to three.
Iraq, who bowed out of the last three Asian Cups at the quarterfinal stage, head to Kuala Lumpur to face either neighbors Iran or Korea Republic in the semifinals on Wednesday.

Australia's goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer (in red) fights for the ball during their quarterfinal match at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup soccer tournament at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi, Saturday.

HANOI, Vietnam,
July 22--Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi was the hero for defending champions Japan as they eliminated Australia 4-3 in a penalty shootout to progress to the semifinals of the AFC Asian Cup, AFC reported.
Kawaguchi saved from both Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill as Japan’s quest for a third successive Asian Cup title stayed alive with Yuji Nakazawa scored the winning penalty emphatically past Mark Schwarzer.
The Japanese rekindled memories of their last appearance in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup, when they knocked out Jordan in similar fashion before going on to win the title. Ivica Osim’s side will now take on either Saudi Arabia or Uzbekistan in the semifinal next Wednesday in Hanoi.
It was a brave performance, though, from the Australians who played the entire extra-time period with just 10 men after Vince Grella was sent off 14 minutes from the end of normal time.
TheÊscore at that stage was 1-1 after John Aloisi’s 70th minute opener was cancelled out less than two minutes later when Naohiro Takahara struck from close range.
Aloisi scored for the Socceroos with just 20 minutes to go when he pushed home a corner from substitute Kewell after the ball had somehow managed to cross the six-yard box untouched.
But Australia’s lead lasted less than two minutes when Takahara capitalized on Mark Milligan’s miss-hit clearance before turning and firing past Schwarzer, via the goalkeeper’s right post.
Japan’s hopes of progressing improved further as time was running out when referee Kuwaiti Saad Khameel Al FadhliÊsent midfielder Grella off when he hit Takahara in the face with a flailing arm as both went up for a header, but Osim’s team were unable to take full advantage.
Not surprisingly, the champions controlled possession but they lacked the creativity to breach the tightly packed Australian defense. The game went into extra-time but the Australians put up a dogged defense and successfully kept the Japanese at bay, even though there was a scare for the Socceroos with just seconds remaining.
A lofted cross into the penalty area was met by Shunsuke Nakamura’s flying volley, but Schwarzer’s reflex save to his right kept the ball out and took the game into a penalty shootout. Kawaguchi guessed correctly to deny Kewell and Neill while Nakamura and Yasuhito Endo converted successfully before Tim Cahill put Australia on the board.
Yuichi Komano made it 3-1 and Nicky Carle kept Australia alive with his spot kick. The pressure increased on Japan when Takahara put his effort over the bar and when David Carney scored that left Nakazawa to go head-to-head with Schwarzer.
The veteran defender, however, was equal to the task to send Japan into the semifinals once again.

Finnish Ferrari Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen speeds out of a turn during the third timed practice for the European Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring racetrack, Germany, Saturday.

NURBURGRING, Germany, July 22--Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen roared to pole position during a dramatic qualifying session for the European Grand Prix, reported BBC.
The final spell of qualifying was delayed for just over half an hour when British world championship leader Lewis Hamilton crashed into the barriers.
When qualifying resumed, Raikkonen set a flying lap of one minute 31.450 seconds, ahead of McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and team-mate Felipe Massa.
If Hamilton is passed fit he will start in 10th place on the Nurburgring grid.
McLaren boss Ron Dennis said it was “too early“ to know if the British rookie was fit enough to take part in the race. If Hamilton does need to use McLaren’s spare car he must start the race from the pit lane.
Raikkonen had been fastest during the final two practice sessions at the Nurburgring and he comfortably converted that pace into pole. The Finn overhauled Massa in the final minute of qualifying, but Alonso could not close down Raikkonen and settled for splitting the Ferraris.
“It was difficult to wait but you just have to be patient,“ said Raikkonen, who claimed his first pole since the season-opener in Australia. “The lap was good for me and it was easy to take pole. The race will be hard but I’m hoping to do well.“
Raikkonen is chasing a hat-trick of victories for the first time in his career after wins in France and Britain.

Bernard Hopkins, left, connects with a left to Winky Wright during the eleventh round of their light heavyweight boxing match in Las Vegas, Saturday.

LAS VEGAS, USA, July 22--Bernard Hopkins retained his IBO light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Winky Wright at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, on Saturday.
According to CNN, the 42-year-old former undisputed middleweight champion posted scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 117-111 to end Wright’s seven-year unbeaten run.
Wright was aggressive behind his southpaw jab but Hopkins was able to pile up the points with his counters. It means Hopkins stays the universally recognized champion at 170lbs.
Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KOs) opened a gash over Wright’s left eye with a head-butt in the second round, leaving his opponent gesturing angrily. And it prompted Wright, who has never been knocked out, to abandon his usually defensive style to surprise Hopkins with consistent attacks.
Hopkins landed 152 of his 640 punches while Wright connected with 167 of his 618 blows, leaving him adamant he should have won the contest.
“It was a dirty fight. He was head-butting all day and I thought I won it,“ Wright protested afterwards.
Hopkins admitted he had been pushed all the way and added: “It was a tough, very close fight. Winky is tough, and he kept coming. He knows that I respect him a lot.“
The “Executioner“, who made a record 21 straight defences of his middleweight title before losing twice to Jermain Taylor, already had his legacy secured before he upset Antonio Tarver when moving up a division last year.
He abandoned his retirement to face Wright and hinted he may extend his career further for more big fights in the future.

CASTRES, France, July 22--World cycling chief Pat McQuaid said Friday there were no further ’open’ cases concerning riders on this year’s Tour de France, AFP reported.
And the president of the International Cycling Union said the revelations concerning doping suspect Michael Rasmussen had not been timed in a bid to discredit the world’s biggest race.
A cloud hung over the Tour on Friday after it emerged that Rabobank team leader Rasmussen, who is wearing the yellow jersey, had come into the race having missed two random doping controls.
International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid told AFP that those events did not mean Rasmussen had necessarily doped, but he confirmed that a third missed test would have amounted to a doping violation.
However, McQuaid said Rasmussen was the only rider currently in the race to have aroused the UCI’s suspicion.
“We issued him a warning that if he missed another test it would amount to a doping violation. But there’s no evidence of doping,“ McQuaid said. “We couldn’t stop him starting the race. That’s a question you would have to ask Rabobank.“
Asked if there were other riders who could be in a similar position, he added: “There’s no open cases against any other riders in the Tour de France.“

CARSON, USA,
July 22--David Beckham began his daunting challenge to convert America into a soccer-mad nation with an uneventful 12-minute debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night.
Beckham got into the exhibition against Chelsea in the 78th minute, jogging onto the field amid huge cheers and a sea of camera flashes from the sold-out crowd of 27,000, reported AP.
“The atmosphere is incredible,“ he said after Chelsea’s 1-0 victory.
The 32-year-old midfielder spent most of the game on the bench because of a nagging left ankle injury.
There were cheers each time Beckham touched the ball, the highlight being a corner kick he took in stoppage time. After taking about 10 minutes to get loose on the sideline, he entered as a substitute for Alan Gordon, who slapped hands with the English superstar before Beckham took the field for the first time.
“I’m not fit. I haven’t trained since I got here,“ he said. “But it’s nice to be out there.“