sports
Spain Beats Saudi Arabia 4-0 in World Cup Match Watched in Gaza City Cafe
Lamine Yamal scored in the 10th minute as Spain secured victory on Sunday night. Fans in Gaza City gathered to watch despite ongoing hardships linked to the war that began in October 2023.
Al JazeeraAudio version
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Spain defeated Saudi Arabia 4-0 in a World Cup match on 22 June 2026. Lamine Yamal, aged 18, scored the opening goal for Spain in the 10th minute. Three more goals followed in the next 35 minutes. Al Jazeera reported that football fans in Gaza City watched the Sunday night match on a small screen set against an idle projector screen at a busy cafe.
The crowd screamed when Yamal scored the first goal. Spain recognized the State of Palestine in 2024. Yamal raised a Palestinian flag during Barcelona’s La Liga victory celebrations in May 2026. King Felipe VI of Spain called for Israel to stop its “abhorrent acts” in Gaza.
Mohammad Attallah, 43, a lawyer from Gaza City, said he had followed Spanish football for years. “We are a people who love life and love football. Many people here have followed La Liga and the Spanish national team for years, but Spain’s stance during the war made people feel much closer to it,” Attallah said.
Hani Abu Rizq, 32, said watching football is one of the few ways to escape daily pressures in Gaza. Abdullah Masoud said the match gave Gaza residents a chance to experience moments that feel somewhat normal.
“We do not forget the positions we witnessed during the war, whether from Spanish officials or sports figures such as Lamine Yamal when he raised the Palestinian flag before the world,” Masoud said. The war in Gaza began in October 2023 and has killed nearly 73,000 Palestinians, Al Jazeera reported. Gaza City lies 3,500 km from Madrid.
