Palestine go down to Iran but win hearts

Palestine conceded a goal after just 64 seconds in their opening match at the Asian Cup as Iran launched their title bid with a clinical 4-1 win on Sunday.
But the occasion went beyond football at the Education City Stadium as before kick-off, the players and fans in attendance stood united for a minute of silence, in compassion with the ongoing conflict in Palestine.
The match coincided with the 100th day of the Israel-Hamas war, the grim milestone adding extra significance to an occasion that went beyond football. Palestinian flags were scattered among the crowd of nearly 28,000 at Education City Stadium, one of the venues for the 2022 World Cup, and their consolation goal just before half-time got the biggest cheer of the night.
Loud cries went up for the Palestinian anthem before the game and the team's players put their arms around each other's shoulders. A brief moment's silence was held before kick-off, the quiet punctuated by cries of "free Palestine".
Captain Musab al-Battat said on the eve of the game that the players were determined to "put a smile on the faces of the Palestinian people" despite the team's difficult build-up.
When the action got underway, three-time champions Iran took the lead after only two minutes of play when Mehdi Ghayedi’s cross from the left found Saman Ghoddos who controlled the ball with his first touch before setting up Karim Ansarifard for a well-placed shot into the bottom corner.
The Iranians looked dangerous every time they ventured forward and doubled their lead in the 12th minute when Ghoddos' curling free-kick found an unmarked Shojae Khalilzadeh at the far post to sweep past a stranded Rami Hamada.
It could have been three in the 22nd minute as Alireza Jahanbakhsh stole the ball off Michael Termanini at the edge of the Palestine box before sending his square pass towards Mehdi Taremi but an alert Hamada was quickly off his line to thwart the danger.
The third goal, however, came seven minutes before the break when a quick interchange of passes on the right flank released Jahanbakhsh who used Taremi’s run as a diversion to release the ball to the onrushing Ghayedi to finish.
Palestine, however, ended the first half with a glimmer of hope, a stunning Tamer Seyam header in the sixth minute of added time giving Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand no chance.
Their hopes, however, were dashed when AS Roma forward Sardar Azmoun - who came on at the start of the second half - needed only 10 minutes to make his presence felt, knocking home a loose ball from close range after good work by Sadegh Moharrami on the right.
Palestine tried to find a way back but Iran continued to dictate the pace and it could have gotten worse for the West Asian side when centre-back Mohammed Saleh was initially shown a red card for a foul on Azmoun but upon a VAR review, the card was rescinded with a yellow card shown instead.
The victory means Iran top the group ahead of the United Arab Emirates - who beat Hong Kong, China 3-1 earlier in the day - on goal difference. Iran will look to cement the top spot when they take on Hong Kong on Friday while Palestine will face UAE a day earlier.