Japan did it very easy in their first game, barely breaking a sweat as the put four past Palestine in Newcastle — but this game should provide a sterner test of Australia’s biggest rivals for the Asian Cup.
It won’t be plain sailing for the Samurai Blue; having already admitted they’re concerned by the stifling conditions in Brisbane, coach Javier Aguirre’s tenure is in jeopardy due to match-fixing allegations against him.
Iraq crept past Jordan with a scrappy 1-0 victory in their last game so don’t expect any expansive football this evening. But with these two occupying the top spots in Group D, the tenor of the game could depend on what happens in Melbourne beforehand.
AS derbies go, they don’t come much more emotive than this: Palestine take on Jordan with both Asian Cup campaigns on the brink.
PALESTINE V JORDAN
THE loyalties are so blurry that Jordanian and Palestinian fans say “it’s almost funny”.
There has even been a scene-setting joke bandied around this week that in English translates to “Hello brother, can you please score a goal?”.
In Melbourne we have Collingwood-Carlton and in Europe there’s the Real Madrid-Barcelona El Clasico, but as far as derbies go Jordan versus Palestine is unique.
In Melbourne on Friday night, the two teams meet in a non-friendly match for the first time.
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus