ATHENS, Aug. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- "We will try our best to win a medal, perhaps a gold medal at the Olympics," said coach Adnan Hamad Majeed minutes after Iraq beat Australia 1-0 to make the men's soccer semifinal at the Athens Olympic Games here Saturday evening.

    "The result is a source of great happiness for our people back home," Majeed said, explaining that he and his players contact their relatives on a daily basis and every time when his team wins,people at home will celebrate on the streets.

    After a scoreless first half, Mohammed Emad made the difference for Iraq with his magic bicycle kick in the 64th minute. Emad volleyed the ball over two Australian defenders to beat the confused goalie Eugene Galekovic.

    One minute later, Australia found its long-range shot bounced off the bar.

    Iraqi would have ended the match at Heraklio 2-0 had a shot by 71st-minute substitute Farhan Razzaq not been parred away by the Australian keeper.

    Earlier, Australia found the Iraqi net in a goal-mouth melee, but the goal was ruled offside.

    Iraq made its last Olympic appearance 16 years ago in the Seoul 1988 Games, where it ended its mission in the first round. Their earlier best record was in Moscow in 1980 when they reached the quarter-finals.

    In Athens, Iraq scored a 4-2 victory over European heavyweight Portugal, beat Costa Rica 2-0 before losing to Morocco 2-1 in the group preliminaries.

    The quarterfinal found Australia, who finished second in group C after a 1-1 draw with Tunisia, a 5-1 win over Serbia and Montenegro and a 1-0 loss to Argentina, missing its defender CraigMoore, midfielders Ahmad Elrich and Tim Cahill.

    The Australian trio, who were booked twice each in the preliminaries, had combined to score three goals, two by Elrich and one by Cahill, while John Aloisi contributed most for Australia with three during the group phase. Enditem