2023 Asian Cup: Iran vs Palestine match highlights – an occasion that goes beyond football

The Iranian and Palestinian football teams clashed on Sunday at the Education City Stadium in Qatar. The match fell on the 100th day of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the grim milestone adding extra significance to an occasion that goes beyond football.

Palestinian flags marked their notable presence among the crowd of nearly 28,000 spectators. The Palestinian anthem before the game received loud cries and the team’s players put their arms around each other’s shoulders.

The loudest cheers of the Sunday game came as …

Before the match, an announcement asked for a moment of silence “in memory of the lives tragically lost as a result of the ongoing situation in Palestine.” A hush fell across the stadium before pro-Palestinian chants could be heard coming from members of the crowd.

In the first half, scores of Iranian supporters led chants of “death to Israel”. The same group also chanted “Palestine, Palestine”. Three-time champion Iran grabbed victory in the game, 4-1. Iran scored three early goals, inside two minutes, in the 12th and in the 38th, making it 3-0.

But the loudest cheers of the Sunday game came as the Palestinian team pulled a goal back in first-half stoppage time. But Iran eventually claimed victory in the match by scoring a fourth goal 10 minutes after the break.

Next, Iran is set to take on Hong Kong on Friday, and Palestine is known to face the UAE team a day earlier. On the eve of the Sunday clash, captain Musab al-Battat highlighted his team’s determination to “put a smile on the faces of the Palestinian people.”

Gaza conflict triggering unprecedented humanitarian crises

The brutal Israel-Hamas conflict erupted on October 7 as militant group Hamas unleashed a surprise attack on Israeli cities, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostages, amid horrific acts of brutality, according to The Times of Israel.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military response, aimed at rooting out Hamas, has killed at least 24,000 in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza health ministry run by the group. Keep an eye out on the page as we deliver more updates on Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar.