Iraqis are daring to dream of football success despite the threat of violence as their national squad prepares to face Saudi Arabia, the hot favourites in the final of the Asian Cup today.

Security forces have increased patrols across Iraq in a bid to prevent a repeat of the double car bombing in Baghdad last Wednesday that killed 50 fans who were celebrating in the street after Iraq scored a surprise victory against South Korea in the semi-finals.

The possibility of further bloodshed failed to quell the rare sense of excitement that has brought Shia, Sunni and Kurdish football fans together ahead of the big game that is being played in Jakarta today.

“Victory for Iraq,” chanted a group of clapping men in white robes in the southern city of Basra. The national television channel, al-Sharkia, broadcast their smiling faces as part of a special three-hour programme, Play Iraq, that showed highlights from Iraq’s matches so far against a soundtrack of upbeat Iraqi songs and gave viewers a chance to phone in and express their hopes that Iraq will win Asia’s top football tournament. “I expect the team to win 3-0,” predicted one excited caller.

With kick-off set for 4.00pm local time, many people in Iraq are already settling down in front of television screens at home, at a friend’s house or at one of the many coffee shops that dot the country.

“I will watch the game with my friends at one of their homes,” said Akram, a 20-year-old student in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. “I told my parents that I would celebrate inside if we win because of the security risks, but I lied. If Iraq is victorious today then my friends and I will drive around the city in our car with a flag flying from the window. If my parents knew, they would never let me go out because of the risk of a car bomb but I refuse to be afraid.”

Other fans were more cautious. “Everyone is preparing to watch this big game but at the same time we are afraid of a terrorist attack,” said Elham Mohammed, a civil servant also in Kirkuk. “All parents will stop their children from going outside if Iraq wins.”

Authorities in Baghdad and Kirkuk have imposed vehicle bans from 4 and 6pm to prevent suicide car bombings.

In Baghdad, the mood was a similar mix of excitement and caution. “I will never go out because I have a wife and daughter so I don’t want to die,” said Wa’el Zuhair, a 25 year-old contractor. “However, I told my friends that I will invite them out to lunch on another day if we win and I told me wife I will buy her something special.”

The success of Iraq’s football squad, itself a collection of Shia, Sunni and Kurdish players, has unified the country in a way that the government of Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, has so far failed to achieve.

The team knows much is riding on its shoulders to clinch the title. “We have been suffering for a long time, not just in recent days,” striker Younis Mahmoud said from the Indonesian capital. “But we know that by winning, we can make the Iraqi people happy. We have reached the final, but that is not enough for us. Our ambition is win the title.”

Iraqi men traditionally fire their guns into the air to celebrate a victory or a special occasion but people often die when the bullets come back to earth, at least four people were killed in Baghdad alone from such discharges following the semi-finals. As a result, Iraqis – including the police and army – have been told to refrain from firing celebratory shots if they win today.

Win or lose, shopkeepers selling Iraqi flags and T-shirts have enjoyed a roaring trade as the football team’s success reignites a sense of national pride in a country that has been battered by war and oppression for decades. “We ran out of stock and we had to buy more in order to meet demand,” said Nazim Hassan, 35, who sells Iraqi flags and T-shirts in the central Baghdad Shorja market.

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