Heroes, still… [Archives:2003/661/Front Page]

Sana'a, August 20 – Despite Yemen's loss to Brazil (3:0) in a tense match that took place in Tampere, Finland yesterday, the Yemeni Under 17 football team proved a tough contender and performed greatly against the world's strongest team of Brazil. Hence, it only deserves to be appreciated and thanked for its performance. They are still our heroes.
The match was tense throughout but the result was not a surprise for football fans as Brazil was never beaten in normal time by any Asian team since 1990.
The Yemeni team was able to prove to the world that it does play well, and can be a threat, even to the greatest team on earth.
The Yemeni team has also achieved good results throughout the tournament even before qualifying for the world matches.
One should not underestimate the achievement made by Yemen's football team, which did not only represent Yemen, but the whole Arab world as well. “We felt that it would be tough opponent to beat, yet we still had hope. Nevertheless, our team deserves the greatest of admiration for what it has achieved so far.” one of the Yemeni citizens told Yemen Times after the final whistle was blown signaling Yemen's loss to the world's giant, Brazil.
Yemen's participation in its own was a major success for the game in Yemen, and one should not forget that the team was supposed to win the first game with Portugal if it were not for the horrifying refereeing. Furthermore, this also promises a possible success when Yemen participates with this very team in future Arab and international tournaments in upcoming qualification matches for the normal FIFA World Cup rounds. As Yemen Times, we would like to congratulate the team and ourselves for the spectacular show presented by our team, wishing our team the best of luck in future tournaments and stress again, that for us, they are still heroes!
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