DUBAI, Aug 1: Asian Cup champions Iraq flew out of Dubai on Wednesday morning for Amman after a show of Arab unity in the city which hosted a special party to honour their heroes.

The Iraqi team, who defied odds to beat Saudi Arabia in the final, were awarded a cash prize of 20 million dirhams ($5.45 million) by the UAE vice-president and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum

“It’s a big honour to celebrate the team’s victory in the UAE,” Hussein Saeed, Chairman of the Iraqi Football Federation, said at the reception where more than 5,000 welcomed the team.

“Despite the suffering of our people and the poor preparations, we fought hard in all matches. What kept us going was our resolve to bring joy to our people,” Iraqi captain Younis Mahmoud said.

Iraqi midfielder Haitham Kazim said: “This could well be the start of a trend with world leaders beginning to think more about restoring peace in Iraq. Believe it or not, we had this feeling that even the Saudis were praying for us to win the final. The Saudis are one of the best sides in the continent and they are not easy to beat, but we were determined to win for our people.

“Our victory has sent a message to the whole world to come together and end the pains of Iraqi people. I don’t know who is Shia, Sunni or Kurdish in our team. All we know is that we are Iraqis. We were born so and we will remain so,” he added.—Reuters