With the new location of the 2023 Asian Cup finally determined it’s time to take stock of the team Palestine could be sending to Qatar in just over 240 days’ time or in 13 months should the tournament be held in January 2024.
Palestine has improved by leaps and bounds over the last ten years. In 2012, a prediction that the team would qualify for three straight Asian Cup Finals would be dismissed as fanciful. As would have the prediction that a player from Hilal Al-Quds would become a breakout sensation in Portugal or that half a dozen national team players developed locally would be key players for teams in Egypt’s top tier.
Palestine’s rise has been meteoric but lacking a distinct symbol of its success. There was a sense of upward trajectory following their debut at the Asian Cup in 2015 but a good qualifying cycle that featured a 100% record in 2017 and an 11 match unbeaten run did not result in any tangible achievements (besides being ranked above Israel in the FIFA Rankings for the first time).
Al-Fida’i got two draws at the 2019 Asian Cup but failed to score in their three games and crashed out at the group stage. They started World Cup qualification with a 2-0 win over Uzbekistan and then slumped to a humiliating defeat to Singapore. They dominated eventual World Cup finalists Saudi Arabia at home in a 0-0 draw then turned around and lost to Yemen in the next fixture.
Makram Dabboub has, at the very least, got the team to win games they should win but two heavy defeats at the FIFA Arab Cup represent a significant blemish on his record.
So what should the expectations for Palestine be at the 2023 Asian Cup?
It seems unlikely that they will be handed a group as difficult as the ones they were placed in at Australia 2015 (Holders Japan, 2007 Champions Iraq, and 2014 WC Playoff participant Jordan) or UAE 2019 (Holders Australia, 2018 WC Playoff participant Syria, and Jordan).
Should the same draw procedure be utilized they are guaranteed to avoid the Jordanians which will come as some relief. The teams that comprise Pot 4- of which one will be grouped with Palestine- should not strike fear in the hearts of Palestinian Football Fans.
Keep in mind, Palestine swept aside two 2019 Asian Cup finalists in qualifying- Yemen and Philippines- by a combined score of 9-0. Palestine’s has a very healthy record against teams in Pot 4 with all their losses all suffered more than ten years ago when the national team was not as strong as it is now. There are no freebies in international football but Palestine should feel relatively comfortable even if Tajikistan or Thailand land in their group.
At a minimum, Palestine has to beat the Pot 4 team. That would, in all likelihood, be enough to punch a ticket into the next round.
Pot 2 teams are a bit of a mixed bag for Palestine but only Iraq have an unquestioned superiority over Al-Fida’i. The historical record might belie where the two teams currently stand. One only has to look at their meeting at the 2019 WAFF Championship to see how close the levels of the two teams really are. In that very same tournament, Palestine swept Syria aside 4-3 in spite of an absolutely atrocious goalkeeping performance from Toufic Ali.
Marcelo Lippi’s China couldn’t beat Noureddine Ould Ali (1-1) back in 2018. Oman and Palestine split their games in 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying. Vietnam is an unknown quantity but has not been in its best form as of late. Their World Cup qualification campaign featured eight straight losses until they beat China at home and drew Japan in a dead rubber on the last match day.
UAE fared better in Round 3 of World Cup qualification but only because Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq conspired to the most collectively useless attempt at qualifying and even with that helping hand of incompetence- UAE didn’t punch their ticket to the playoffs until the last day.
Getting a draw against the Pot 2 team- as Palestine did against Syria in Sharjah in 2019- is completely possible.
As far as the Pot 1 team are concerned, it might be too much to expect Palestine to get anything out of those games but if they play bravely they stand a chance of at the very least nabbing a point. They proved capable of going toe-to-toe with Saudi Arabia on more than one occasion with Palestine drawing four out of the last six encounters.
A perspective clash against Saudi Arabia or Australia- two teams that have lack a dependable striker- might further help Palestine overachieve in their toughest match.
Should Palestine’s approach those encounters with intent to maximize their array of attacking talent at their disposal then they should have every chance of getting something against a Pot 1 opponent.
When asked about goals for the upcoming tournament and if Palestine could get out of the group stage for the first time. Makram Dabboub even went as far to say “that we can do even more than that”.
Attention will shift now to February’s draw but Palestine can and should aim to get their first ever win and build on a meager goal total (1) at the Asian Cup finals.
