‘We play every game with heart’: Palestine meet Socceroos with minds on Gaza | Joey Lynch
Makram Daboub’s team are in Perth for a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday when their motivation lies with bringing some joy to those who are suffering As the final whistle rang out, waves of emotion began to crash over Michel Termanini. The weight of what had been accomplished became clear but so too what this moment would mean for so many. Termanini and his teammates had just seen out a 0-0 draw against Lebanon to secure Palestine’s progression to the next phase of Asian qualification for the 2026 World Cup. It is the furthest the team has advanced in their attempts to secure a place at the showpiece event since joining Fifa in 1998. Against a backdrop of the war in Gaza, it has been a campaign like no other. Palestine were set to stage a first home game since 2019 in a qualifier against Australia in the West Bank last November, but the outbreak of hostilities forced the team to ‘host’ games across Kuwait and Qatar instead. Coach Makram Daboub has said players, many of whom have lost loved ones, have a “constant feeling of anxiety for their families”, and with the Gazan and West Bank leagues suspended, many have been forced to look abroad to continue playing, leaving home to play in leagues in Jordan, Egypt and Libya. Continue reading...