Iran 4 Palestine 1

Sunday 14th January 2024 – The Asian Cup – Education City, Doha

It had been a whirlwind trip, with little chance to sit back and enjoy the games without thinking of the logistics of what was happening next.  With my flight leaving at 1.30am, I still had one last dilemma left which related to collecting my bag enroute to the airport from the hotel.  On the map the distance between Education City stadium and my hotel was about 3/4^th of a mile.  However, there was a 10-line main road in between, plus the necessary diversion routes the tournament organisers would put in place just for the hell of it.  So, rather than collecting my bag after the game, I got the taxi from the UAE vs Hong Kong to drop me at the hotel and then I would dump my bag in the storage at the ground.

I left the hotel at 7:40pm, some fifty minutes before kick-off.  I got to my seat, having already missed Karim Ansarifard’s 2^nd minute opener for Iran at 8:37pm.  Total distance walked 2.7 miles.  Naturally, the most direct and sensible route was closed off to fans, instead being diverted through the various buildings at Education City before doubling back on ourselves.  Someone, somewhere in Doha must be very proud of the pain and inconvenience they were causing thousands of fans, who like me, missed the emotional entrance of the teams and the “moment of respect” that everyone was asked to observe for the situation not just in Palestine, but the whole region.

Education City is a superb venue.  Once again, described by our marketing friends at FIFA in their own inimitable style as “a stadium features triangles that form complex, diamond-like geometrical patterns which appear to change colour with the sun’s movement across the sky.  Like diamonds, the stadium’s design represents quality, durability and resilience – and will become something to be treasured, both for the memories it holds and its future value to the country.”  Views inside are uninterrupted, leg room is spacious and there is air conditioning blowing around your feet.  My seat was in the second tier, right among the boisterous Iranian fans.

Whilst Iran’s fans outnumbered the Palestinians ten to one at least, many of the Iranians were carrying Palestine flags and applauded them when they attacked.  However, it was all a bit academic – Iran dominated the game.  I didn’t have to wait long to see a goal as Tractor FC’s Shojae Khalilzadeh finished off a neat move by drilling home from 10 yards.

The Iranian squad was certainly full of experience, with ten players having 50 or more caps.  They drew on players from 13 different countries including Greece, Poland, Cyprus and a token English-based player in Brentford’s Saman Ghoddos. 

Two became three seven minutes before the break when Alireza Jahanbakhsh set up Mehdi Ghayedi and his shot across the goal gave the Palestinian keeper no change.  Game over. But the moment the 27,690 fans were waiting for game in the final minutes of injury time when Tamar Seyam headed home from a free kick.  The stadium erupted and it took almost three minutes to restart such was the celebrations on the pitch and side-lines.

I ventured down to the concourse at half-time to buy my final “official” snack, choosing a chicken wrap which was effectively a tightly rolled, stale flat bread with a few chicken crumbs in with limp lettuce and soggy tomato.  1/10 I’m afraid for this poor effort that had less nutritional value than the bottle of water I had to wash it down.

Ten minutes after the break and Iran had their fourth.  Roma’s centre-forward Sardar Azmoun finishing smartly.  The game then got scrappy and with both sides making their full quota of substitutes, it was over as a spectacle.  Alaa Eddin Hasan, one of two Israel-based players in the Palestine squad had the final chance of the game in the 2^nd minute of injury time but his effort was well saved.  There was still time for a VAR check on Mo Saleh’s late tackle on Azmoun, but on review it was just deemed a yellow.

And just like that, my trip was over.  I negotiated the exit routes, managed to pick up my bag and was on the metro to the airport within 30 minutes.  I’d walked over 60,000 steps, seen 17 goals, missed 3 and almost worked my way through the half-time snack menu.  Doha had been a fine host, although some of the logistics put in place by the organising committee left a lot to be questioned.

The country had hosted two major tournaments in little over a year.  It had the stadiums, the infrastructure, the hotels and the weather.  So, what next?  It is hard to see how it can utilise the stadiums now the party has left town although who’s to know what crazy plans the footballing authorities will have in the future.