The Miracle Continues

Iraq's U-23 soccer team continued its improbable Olympic success story with a second straight victory, 2-0 over Costa Rica. The win, coming on the heels of their stunning 4-2 upset of heavily-favored Portugal in the opener, guarantees the Iraqi squad a place in the Olympic quarterfinals for the first time since 1980. Iraq now leads Group D with 6 points and a plus 4 goal differential (the first tiebreaker). Therefore, even a narrow loss Wednesday against Morocco should allow the Iraqi team to win the group and hopefully draw an easier quarterfinal opponent.