Souttar the hero as Socceroos pushed to the brink by Palestine

Some elements appeared normal, customary to any international clash.

Like the fact Palestine were in their red home kit, and the Socceroos in their navy-and-teal away strip, its first appearance since their historic win over Tunisia at last year’s World Cup in Qatar.

That Palestine pushed Graham Arnold’s side to the brink, pressing proactively and stretching them in a manner with which we have become used to seeing since Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation. And that Harry Souttar scored off a Craig Goodwin set-piece, an occurrence becoming more common than the common man himself.

But other components were atypical.

Like the minute’s silence the two teams shared before kick-off and the “Solidarity with Palestine” message on the big screen. And the way the pro-Palestinian crowd, in the seventh minute, raised Palestinian flags to mark October 7, the date of the deadly Hamas attack in Israel which sparked the retaliation that has reduced Gaza to rubble. And the signs they held, some printed with “Free Gaza” and others with images of a key, the symbol of homes lost during the Nakba of 1948.

And the big giveaway: this was all happening in the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, in Kuwait, and not Ramallah, in the West Bank, where it had initially been scheduled. This would have been Palestine’s first home game since 2019, but for the outbreak of war that forced its relocation to neutral territory.

Fans wave Palestine national flags and hold pro-Palestinian banners during the match between Palestine and Australia.Credit: AP

That war puts this game in a unique context. It attaches more meaning to the keffiyehs Palestine’s players wore for their pre-match national anthem. And it reminds the viewer that while the 198cm Souttar was putting away his 10th international goal in 22 appearances – as a centre-back – one of the Palestine defenders who might have helped stop his 1-0 winner was, according to a BBC report, still sifting through the remains of his own house, having helped retrieve the bodies of his neighbours after an October 30 air strike.

Ibrahim Abuimeir could not be selected for his country’s first World Cup qualifiers because he is still stuck in Gaza, along with teammates Khaled Al-Nabris and Ahmed Al-Kayed. That the trio are reportedly starting their days queueing for water forces a new interpretation of Palestine’s performance against the Socceroos.

That their coach Makram Daboub said his players were in a constant state of anxiety adds significance to the way the 90th-ranked outfit made more passes in the final third and more tackles than their 27th-ranked opponents. To how their seven shots (two on target) were uncomfortably close to Australia’s eight (five on target), and how they came within a terrific Mat Ryan save of equalising.

Australia’s Harry Souttar heads the ball during a qualifying soccer match against Palestine.Credit: AP

That came in first-half stoppage-time, when the ball fell invitingly for Tamer Seyam a couple of metres out. The forward stabbed the bouncing ball towards goal, only for Ryan to somehow push it around the post. It was one of a few close calls for the Socceroos, who held on and sit top of Group I on six points, having beaten Bangladesh 7-0 in Melbourne last week before flying to Kuwait on Saturday night.

With Bangladesh and Lebanon earlier drawing 1-1, Australia are four points clear with four games to play in this phase of qualifying and will resume their road to the 2026 finals in March, after the Asian Cup.

“I don’t think we were best pleased with our performance – we can play a lot, lot better,” Souttar told Network 10 after the game. “But it’s a great lesson for us as a team, and a couple of the new guys coming into the squad, about playing games away in Asia.

“If you want to go through and qualify, these are the games you’ve got to win. We stood up to the task, and end of the day we won the game, but we know as a group and as a squad we can play a whole lot better.”

Arnold – who made four changes to his XI, starting Ryan Strain, Kye Rowles, Aziz Behich and Martin Boyle – said he was “very proud” of his squad for how they handled the uncertainty in the lead-up to the match.

“It’s exactly what I predicted and thought,” Arnold told Network 10, “that Palestine were going to come out with that type of energy, that type of work rate and fight, and you’ve got to give full credit to Palestine.

“Probably we didn’t play our best, but the most important thing was the three points. I’ll have a bit of break now, a bit of a reflection on everything and I look forward to that.”

The Socceroos have pledged to donate a portion of their match fees to Oxfam’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza, and Football Australia has matched the sum.

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