War-torn Palestine will attempt to bridge one of the widest gaps in Asian football when they take on defending champions Japan today.
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The team from the Palestinian territories has already made history just by reaching their first Asian Cup, thanks to their AFC Challenge Cup triumph last year.
But they face arguably the toughest assignment of the group stages against a star-studded Japanese side who are the tournament’s clear favourites.
It remains to be seen how the Blue Samurai will react to a match-fixing scandal engulfing coach Javier Aguirre, who is set to give evidence in court in Valencia next month following allegations over a match in 2011 when he was manager of Spanish club Zaragoza.
“I can tell you clearly that it has had no effect on the team,” Japan captain Makoto Hasese said. “We all believe in one another in this team, all the players and coaching staff are pulling in the same direction.”
While Japan are Asia’s second-ranked side at 54 in the FIFA rankings, Palestine come in 61 places lower at 115, the second-lowest in the tournament and above only Kuwait.
If they could somehow produce even a draw in Newcastle – itself a massive ask – it would trigger wild
celebrations from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip and provide a small slice of solace in their homeland, devastated by years of war and political turmoil.
For Palestine it will be important to make an impact in their Asian Cup debut after president Mahmoud Abbas reminded the players that “sport is still an important weapon in politics” before they departed for Australia as the battle to achieve statehood continues for the territories.
