BAGHDAD, Aug 23 (AFP) - Loading Kalashnikovs ready to herald victory, Iraqis have put aside their simmering conflicts to cheer the fortunes of their Olympic football team, which could be on the verge of clinching a historic medal in Athens.
Having stunned talent-packed Portugal in their opening match and defeated Australia in the quarter-finals, the unfancied Iraqi side stands just 90 minutes away from a gold medal showdown against either Argentina or Italy.
"We have been carrying the dreams of a whole nation," said veteran coach Adnan Hamad.
Their team's electric performance on the pitch have united a fractious and deeply-troubled country, bogged down in a near three-week battle between US-led Iraqi government forces and Shiite militiamen in Najaf.
"We are twice as happy -- we have been successful and we have made our fellow countrymen proud ... From now on, anything is possible. If we make the final it will be a great honour," said Hamad.
"It has united Iraqis and for a while, made them forget the violence that has ruined their country since the war's end in April 2003," said Najah Hamud, vice-chairman of the Iraqi Football Federation, beaming in his shabby office.
Euphoric with success, every 10 minutes there is a knock on the door and a fresh bouquet of congratulatory flowers from a political official are delivered.
"When our boys play, Iraqis forget their ethnic or political allegiances. They get behind the sole desire to see their team win," said Hamud, a former coach of the local side in war-battered Najaf.
"We'd be delighted if the team can encourage Iraqis to live in peace and harmony," he added. Twenty members of the squad are Shiite Muslims, one a Kurd and another a Sunni.
Their average age is just 23 years and seven months, but the team has been playing together since 2000 when they won the Asian junior cup in Tehran under Hamad, originally from the flashpoint Sunni Muslim bastion of Samarra.
Gold will also boost hopes of enlisting FIFA's help in reconstructing the sport back home. Australia has already invited the side on a two-week training camp. If the goals keep hitting the back of the net, invitations are likely to pour in.
"Before the war we were cut off from the world because of the (13-year UN) embargoes," said Hamud.
"We dreamed about going to Amman for a few days just for a change of scene. Now we've been invited all over the world and we'll accept."
Iraqi newspapers have drooled over their exploits, a welcome break from tales of corruption and violence, publishing spreads with photographs and analyses.
In his own newspaper, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi could hardly contain himself in an open letter to the team.
"You have brought a smile to every Iraqi home and you have hoisted the Iraqi flag high. I salute you and all Iraq salutes you. The palm groves, the marshes, the mountains, the Tigris and the Euphrates salutes you," he said.
Before flying to Athens, the team was feted by President Ghazi al-Yawar -- only the second time an Iraqi head of state has deigned to meet a squad.
The last time was in 1977 when Hassan al-Bakr gave a Lada car to each of the players for winning the Asia junior championship.
A football medal would be Iraq's only second ever Games medal, with Abdul Wahid Aziz's 1960 weightlifting bronze in Rome their only podium appearance.
"I hope our achievements heal the hurt of the Iraqi people and help bring an end to the occupation," said trainer Adnan Hamad from Athens.