UNITED BY FOOTBALL
Coalition forces have sustained an unexpected defeat - on the football field.
British troops in Iraq have been given a 9-3 drubbing by a local side.
Hundreds of residents turned up to watch the Royal Marines take on a team in Umm Khayyal.
Some of the spectators wore Manchester United or Arsenal shirts; others held playing card pictures of David Beckham and David Seaman.
The Marines from 42 Commando said the game started when they began a kick-about with local children in a dusty square.
News spread and a local team turned up - complete with full kit, a referee armed with red and yellow cards, and two flag-waving linesmen.
The Marines, wearing combats and army boots, were comprehensively outplayed.
One Marine said: "The boys thought they must be the Iraqi international side or something. In truth, they thrashed us."
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Coalition forces have sustained an unexpected defeat - on the football field.
British troops in Iraq have been given a 9-3 drubbing by a local side.
Hundreds of residents turned up to watch the Royal Marines take on a team in Umm Khayyal.
Some of the spectators wore Manchester United or Arsenal shirts; others held playing card pictures of David Beckham and David Seaman.
The Marines from 42 Commando said the game started when they began a kick-about with local children in a dusty square.
News spread and a local team turned up - complete with full kit, a referee armed with red and yellow cards, and two flag-waving linesmen.
The Marines, wearing combats and army boots, were comprehensively outplayed.
One Marine said: "The boys thought they must be the Iraqi international side or something. In truth, they thrashed us."
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