Clinical Iran hand Palestine 4-1 defeat at Asian Cup

AL RAYYAN, Qatar :Iran beat Palestine 4-1 in their Asian Cup Group C opener on Sunday at the Education City Stadium where a show of solidarity by Iranian fans and players was quickly followed by a football masterclass from the three-times champions.

Goals from Karim Ansarifard, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Mehdi Ghayedi and Sardar Azmoun gave Iran all three points while Tamer Seyam scored a consolation for Palestine, who are still seeking their first win at the Asian Cup.

Huge cheers greeted the Palestine squad before their national anthem was played as the Iranian fans showed solidarity with their Middle Eastern counterparts, with some holding the Iran flag side-by-side with the Palestine colours.

A moment's silence was also held before the game for the loss of lives in the Israel-Palestinian conflict which has raged on for 100 days and killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza.

The latest conflict in a war that has rumbled on for seven decades began after the devastating Hamas attack on Oct. 7, in which Israel says about 1,200 people were killed and around 240 taken hostage.

But once the referee blew the whistle for kickoff, Iran got straight down to business and opened the scoring in the second minute when Saman Ghoddos played the ball to Ansarifard, who curled his shot past the keeper into the far corner.

Iran doubled their lead from a set piece with Ghoddos the provider yet again, his floating cross to the far post finding Khalilzadeh who smartly turned the ball into the net.

Iran were technically and tactically superior to the Palestinians, who barely managed to get out of their own half at times, and they conceded a third before the break when Ghayedi found the bottom corner from a flowing