Image accreditation: ahote’s_photolog on Flickr
Football minnows Palestine have achieved a historic victory in the Asian Cup, beating Hong Kong 3 – 0 in their group match on Tuesday. Palestine are now through to the knockout round..
Palestine lost to Iran in the first match of the tournament and drew with the UAE in the second game. See this awesome reel, live from the match, of the third goal being scored, as shared by Sohail Rahman, senior news anchor and correspondent for Al Jazeera International News.
This comes at a time when a war is taking place in Gaza. CNN has reported that “More than 25,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.” Some team members have lost family members in the war.
After the game, the Palestinian team captain, Musab Al-Battat, thanked all of the fans and proudly said that their team “deserve to be here.” The Palestine team coach, Makram Daboub, commended his players after the game and called them “heroes.”
Soccer fans the world over must be utterly delighted – with two big tournaments taking place at the same time – with the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) currently being played out in Côte d’Ivoire, with the final set to take place on the 11th of February. Read more here: https://explain.co.za/2024/01/23/could-bafana-bafana-progress-to-the-last-16-at-afcon/
Why does this matter? This is a true glimmer of hope during a dark time for Palestine – with their first-ever win at an Asian Cup, as well as their debut advancement to the round of 16.
