Australia overcome Palestine 1-0 in FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifier

KUWAIT: Harry Souttar's lone goal helped Australia overcome Palestine 1-0 in their 2026 World Cup qualifying match here at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium.

Harry ducked and headed the ball past the outstretched hands of Palestine goalkeeper Rami Hamadi in the 18th minute off a Craig Goodwin corner, helping Australia to go over the line in front of 60,000 fans holding their nerve on the edge on Tuesday.

Palestine were without their star defender Ibrahim Abuimeir, Ahmed Kullab, and Khaled Al-Nabris, with all three stuck in Gaza.

After Tuesday's result, Palestine are third in their World Cup qualifying group, while Australia are top after successive wins.

Australia has won both its matches and is on top of the group with six points, they won the opening match against Bangladesh 7-0, but Palestine proved a much tougher nut to crack.

The match was Palestine's second since the start of the Israel-Gaza conflict, its first in front of the fans. The last time Palestine played at home was against Saudi Arabia in 2019.

Before the start of the game, Australian players donated some portion of their match fee to support the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which will also be matched by Football Australia.

"Free Gaza" flags were also present in the stands as support to Palestine in their ongoing war against Israel.