adminPalestine lost their first Asian Cup match, suffering a 4-0 reverse to Japan in Newcastle, Australia.
Yasuhito Endo, Shinji Okazaki and Keisuke Honda scored before in the opening 45 minutes, with Southampton’s Maya Yoshida heading in the fourth.
Despite the scoreline, a small contingent of Palestinian fans in the 15,497-strong crowd waved flags and beat drums throughout the match.
Palestine’s next game is against Jordan in Melbourne on Friday.
Palestine, whose team was recognised by Fifa in 1998 despite lacking full membership of the United Nations, qualified for the tournament for the first time by winning the Asian Football Confederation’s Challenge Cup in May.
Defender Tamer Salah said that their participation is as much about politics as it is about sport.
“Our people they just want to send a message for all over the world; we are human beings. It is our right to play football and we are not terrorists,” he told the BBC.
Efforts to create a Palestinian state on the West Bank of the River Jordan and Gaza on the Mediterranean coast have been frustrated by the continuing conflict with Israel.
Palestine are 115th in Fifa’s world rankings, 61 places below Japan. Fellow Group D rivals Jordan and Iraq are 93rd and 114th
respectively. — BBC
Online Reporter