Hosts Qatar beat Iraq 1-0 to win final gold

DOHA, Dec 15 (Reuters) Host nation Qatar won the 428th and final gold medal of the 15th Asian Games when they beat Iraq 1-0 in the men's soccer final today.

Defender Bilal Rajab headed home after 63 minutes to win his country a ninth title at the December 1-15 sports extravaganza and send a majority of the 12,000 or so supporters in the Al-Sadd stadium into a frenzy.

Iraq, who were hoping for a first gold medal at the Games since they won the soccer title in 1982, had more than their fair share of the ball but played with just one striker and never threatened the Qatar goal.

Qatar were always the more adventurous of the two sides in a scrappy encounter marked by frequent feigning of injury, and once Rajab had found the net never looked like relinquishing their grip on their first Asian Games soccer title.

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