Israel’s national soccer team, forced to play in the Oceania region because Arab pressure has kept it out of the Middle East region, lost to Australia 2-0 in Melbourne Sunday.
The game was the first in the pre-Olympic Oceania tournament that will decide which teams in the region participate in the 1989 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Neither side had scored by half time. Australia made its first goal on a penalty kick in the 71st minute of play. It scored a second time after the match was extended beyond the statutory time limit because of injuries to players.
The Israeli eleven will play the New Zealand team March 9 in Adelaide, Australia, and will meet the Taiwan team March 13 in Sydney. A rematch with the New Zealand team will be played March 20 at Christchurch, New Zealand, and on March 23, a rematch against Taiwan will be played in Wellington, New Zealand. The Israelis will play New Zealand again March 27 in Auckland, New Zealand.
The Oceania region encompasses Australia, New Zealand, the southwest Pacific islands, East Asia and now Israel.
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