"I'm proud that my player became better than me. I hope he will get some more goals, that's what I want him to do," laughed Baba, who captained the Iraqi team in the 1960 Olympics.
As the clock ran down, both sides played fiercely for the win and with only 1:40 remaining it looked like Canada had won the game, but Gray scooped up a Regan header and slipped the ball into the net. Seconds earlier Mitchell had been flagged for knocking down Iraq's goalie, causing the score to be disallowed.
After the foul the teams were content to run out the clock and escape with the tie, which gives them one point each in this first qualifying round.
In Sunday night's game Norway clearly dominated the play, but was unable to capitalize on its advantage, settling for a 0-0 tie.
The Norwegians, however, appeared to walk away with their morale boosted, as they were not even scheduled to play in the Olympic tournament after failing to qualify last fall. But when Czechoslovakia and East Germany joined the Soviet boycott of the Games the Norwegians were invited to represent their division.
The Chileans, on the other hand, are a respected challenger and were expected to dominate first round play, so the tie was somewhat of a disappointment to them.
The young, aggressive Norwegians continually controlled the midfield, sending the ball into the opposing zone time after time.
The Chileans countered, however with a patient, defensive game, holding off the Norwegians. They were reluctant to be caught upfield and waited for the opportunity that would bring victory.
Although Norway's Leif Seland headed the ball into the net at 36:32 of the first half the score was disallowed by an offensive penalty. But Seland, the youngest player on the team at 20 years old, later challenged the referee's judgement, saying the call frustrated him.
Eduardo Fourniel, the Chilean goalie, sparkled in the net, tallying 11 saves and warded off defeat numerous times.
It was luck, however, that saved the Chilean team at 20:13 of the first half when Norway's Egil Juhansen's 35-footer from the left side deflected off the cross bar and bounded back into play.
Despite Fourniel's outstanding effort, Norway's coach Roeste Fossen said the goalie was lucky. "The reasons we didn't score were our lack of accuracy and aggression."
The Chilean coach, despite the tie score, conceded that the Norwegians had outplayed his team. He said his players have "a long way to go to gain more experience."
Tonight's action will play heavily in determining who in group A goes to Los Angeles. With all four teams deadlocked in the standings after Sunday's ties, tonight's matches between France and Norway at the stadium and Chile vs. Qatar in Annapolis are pivotal in the tournament.
In Sunday's west coast soccer action, the U.S. team is tied for first place in group D after blanking Costa Rica 3-0 on Sunday.