Palestine

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

 

 

 


Grp AWDLFAPts
Qatar300509
Tajikistan111224
China021021
Lebanon012151
Grp BWDLFAPts
Australia210417
Uzbekistan12415
Syria111114
India003060
Grp CWDLFAPts
Iran210627
UAE111524
Palestine111354
Hong Kong002070
Grp DWDLFAPts
Iraq300849
Japan201846
Indonesia102363
Vietnam003480
Grp EWDLFAPts
Bahrain201536
Korea120865
Jordan111634
Malaysia012381
Grp FWDLFAPts
Saudi Arabia210417
Thailand120205
Oman021232
Krygz Rep012151

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