On their third appearance in the finals, Palestine want to clinch a first-ever ticket to the knockout stages of the Asian Cup and under Tunisian coach Makram Daboub the team has been playing well, often under difficult circumstances.
What to expect
Palestine have not played a game at home since 2019. By the time of kickoff, Palestine’s preparation will have stretched over a month across two continents.
They will encounter a balanced group in Doha where they should be able to count on a ton of support. In 2015, on debut, they finished bottom of a group with Japan, Iraq and Jordan, and four years later they drew with Jordan and Syria to finish third in their group.
In Qatar, they will face one of the tournament favourites Iran, local heavyweights the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.
The Palestinians meet the team from the Far East in their final group game and it will be crucial to their hopes of reaching the second round. In their final two friendlies, they lost 1-0 to Uzbekistan but drew with Saudi Arabia. Much depends on how Charleroi’s Oday Daggabh performs.
Of course, given the war back home, sporting considerations might at times be of secondary concern. There are question marks over how the team will deal with the terrible news that emanates daily from Gaza. Applying resilience, they could become a symbol of hope.
Star player
A striker at Charleroi in Belgium, striker Oday Dabbagh must deliver goals for Palestine. Born in Jerusalem, he started his career at Hilal Al Quds before shifting to Kuwait. In 2018, Dabbagh debuted for the national team and he featured in the last Asian Cup.
Manager
Tunisia’s Makram Daboub has said the Palestinian team ‘want to bring a little joy’ to their people amid war back home as his players face anxiety on a daily basis.
It’s a difficult environment for Daboub to work in, but an astute tactician he has got the team in good shape and Palestine should be competitive. He served as a goalkeeping coach previously.
Schedule
Sunday, January 14, 2024, 2:30 pm: Iran – Palestine – Education City Stadium, Doha
Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 5:30 pm: Palestine – United Arab Emirates – Al Janoub Stadium, Doha
Monday, January 23, 2024, 6:00 pm: Hong Kong – Palestine – Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
Squad
| No. | Position | Name | Club | Caps | Goals |
| 1 | Goalkeeper | AMR KADDURA | LANSKRONA (SWE) | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | Defender | MOHAMMED KHALIL | HILAL ALQUDS (PLE) | 11 | 0 |
| 3 | Midfielder | MOHAMMED RASHID | BALI UNITED (IDN) | 36 | 2 |
| 4 | Defender | YASER HAMED | NORTH EAST UNITED (IND) | 26 | 5 |
| 5 | Defender | MOHAMMED SALEH | ALITTIHAD (EGY) | 26 | 0 |
| 6 | Midfielder | ODAY KHAROUB | HILAL ALQUDS (PLE) | 23 | 0 |
| 7 | Defender | MUSAB BATTAT | THAHREYA (PLE) | 56 | 1 |
| 8 | Forward | ALAAEDDIN HASAN | SAKHNIN (PLE) | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | Midfielder | TAMER SEYAM | PURCHUAP (THA) | 58 | 12 |
| 10 | Midfielder | MAHMOUD ABUWARDA | BALATA (PLE) | 29 | 3 |
| 11 | Forward | ODAY DABBAGH | CHARLEROI (BEL) | 29 | 11 |
| 12 | Defender | CAMILIO SALDANA | UNION SAN FELIPE (CHI) | 4 | 0 |
| 13 | Forward | SHEHAB QUMBOR | JABAL ALMUKABER (PLE) | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Midfielder | SAMER ZUBAIDA | HILAL ALQUDS (PLE) | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Defender | MICHAEL TERMANINI | KAZMA (KUW) | 9 | 1 |
| 16 | Goalkeeper | NAIM ABUAKER | THAHREYA (PLE) | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Defender | MOUSA FARAWI | HILAL ALQUDS (PLE) | 14 | 0 |
| 18 | Defender | AMEED MAHAJNEH | UM ALFAHEM (PLE) | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | Forward | MAHMOUD WADI | ALMOKAWLEEN (EGY) | 20 | 0 |
| 20 | Forward | ZEID QUNBAR | JABAL ALMUKABER (PLE) | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | Midfielder | ISLAM BATRAN | HILAL ALQUDS (PLE) | 27 | 5 |
| 22 | Goalkeeper | RAMI HAMADA | JABAL ALMUKABER (PLE) | 42 | 0 |
| 23 | Midfielder | ATTAA JABER | NEFTCHI BAKU (AZE) | 6 | 0 |
| 24 | Defender | ALMAHDI ISSA | JABAL ALMUKABER (PLE) | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Defender | SAMER JONDI | HILAL ALQUDS (PLE) | 7 | 0 |
| 26 | Goalkeeper | BARAA KHAROUB | BALATA (PLE) | 0 | 0 |
