ATHENS, Aug 13: Iraq's footballers brought a ray of comfort to the war-torn country by upsetting Portugal 4-2 in their opening game of the Olympic men's soccer tournament on Thursday.

Striker Younis Mahmoud scored in the 56th minute to effectively settle a bad-tempered match for Iraq, who overcame major hardship to reach the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup in China last month.

Portugal, looking to restore some pride after their senior side were stunned by Greece in the Euro 2004 final, took the lead in the 12th minute in Patras thanks to an own goal from Haidar Jabar.

Iraq hit back to take a 2-1 lead through Emad Mohammed and Hawar Mohammed, only for Portugal to equalise on the stroke of halftime when Porto midfielder Jose Bosingwa volleyed home from the edge of the box.

Substitute Salih Sadir added a fourth in injury time to complete Portugal's misery. Meanwhile, Italy escaped a similar fate to Portugal as they fought back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw with Ghana in Group B.

RESULTS