Australia striker Mitchell Duke is expecting a highly motivated Palestine to present a major obstacle to the Socceroos\u2019 quest for back-to-back victories in Asia\u2019s preliminaries for the 2026 World Cup when they take on Makram Daboub\u2019s side on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The game, originally slated as a home fixture for Palestine, will be played in Kuwait\u2019s Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium as a result of the Israel-Gaza conflict, with the Palestinians looking to build on an opening draw against Lebanon on Thursday. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be an emotional game – they are going to be up for it,\u201d said Duke, who scored twice for Australia in a 7-0 thrashing of Bangladesh in Melbourne in their first game in the second round of Asia\u2019s World Cup preliminaries. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenges are going to be strong. Physically it will be a tough game and intensity will be high. We need to be prepared for that mentally and physically, which I know we will be.\u201d <\/p>\n
It will be important to not \u201cget caught up in anything, if people try to rile you up, stay composed and focused on the job at hand,\u201d Duke said. <\/p>\n
Graham Arnold\u2019s squad left Melbourne to travel to Kuwait on Saturday and are preparing to face a partisan crowd despite the game being played on neutral territory, with many Palestinian expatriates expected to turn out to back their team. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou always love a good atmosphere, it will probably be a little bit hostile and they will create as much of a home advantage as they can,\u201d Duke said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut a lot of the boys have experienced that before; for those who haven\u2019t, it will be a great learning experience.\u201d <\/p>\n
Central defender Harry Souttar said he and his team mates would be focused solely on the game despite the ongoing situation in Israel and Gaza. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what\u2019s going on – it\u2019s horrendous for both sides,\u201d the Leicester City centre half said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to stand here and give a political view. All I can say is that we will be going in focusing purely on the game and nothing else. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe know they are going to be right up for it and playing for a lot more than just football.\u201d <\/p>\n
\nComments\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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