The Brazilian's fears became a reality as Younis Mahmoud netted the only goal of the game to help the Iraqis to lift the continental title for the first time with a 1-0 triumph at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

"We knew that Iraq would be a very difficult team to play in the final," said the 49-year-old.

"Because of the political situation in Iraq, they were very motivated to do well and they also had the support of the crowd here and all around the world.

"I am very happy for the Iraqi team, for all of their staff and especially for all of the people in Iraq.

"I wish them all the best and congratulate them on this result because they deserve to be happy."

The Saudis had scored a tournament-leading 12 goals on their run to the final, but struggled to create chances against the stingy Iraqi defence, which kept its fourth consecutive clean sheet.

"Iraq deserved their win today because they saw that our strength is in ball possession and they did a lot to prevent us from holding on to the ball," added dos Anjos.

"They would challenge for possession the moment we had the ball and because of that, it made it very difficult to play our football."

Despite his obvious disappointment, dos Anjos, who was only recently appointed Saudi coach, is keen to carry on in his job.

"I have only spent two months working with this team and football in Saudi Arabia is currently in a state of transition," said the Brazilian, who has a rolling contract until 2010.

"Of course, I feel sorry for the people of Saudi Arabia who supported us, but I am very proud of the performance of my players during this tournament.

"This is a young team and I am confident for the future as they will have many more games and tournaments to play.

"We lost this tournament, but we will look at our weaknesses and try to correct them in the future so that we can bring greater happiness to the people of Saudi Arabia."