Palestine’s U20 team lost the battle but won the war. A narrow 1-0 defeat to Morocco was enough for the team to progress to the quarterfinals of the U20 Arab Cup for the first time in their history.
Both teams knew exactly what results they needed in order to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament by virtue of the match being played after all other groups had ceased play.
Palestine came into the day on top of Group F by virtue of having scored more goals in their game against Sudan. As a result, Morocco needed to win to top the group while Palestine needed just a draw. Both teams were assured of going through as long as they avoided defeat by more than one goal.
Palestine defended resolutely for the first 20 minutes and then sat in a middle block for most of the game trying to carve out opportunities in transition. A starting lineup that featured 9 WBPL players did well to manage the game and avoided most the errors in possession that plagued them in their first match against Sudan.
Neither side dominated the game and neither goalkeeper had much to do for the majority of the match.
Just when things seemed to be headed for a 0-0 draw Morocco’s Anas Maimouni latched onto a ball headed back to him by fellow substitute Mansour Nashet and blasted it past Mahdi Assi.
Palestine and Morocco were content with playing the ball around midfield for the remaining six minutes of the game. The result means that Morocco will face Group D winners Egypt while Palestine will face Group B winners Jordan.
On paper, Palestine has the easier match up. Jordan, like Palestine, has never advanced past the group stage of this tournament before- while Egypt has made the semifinals of the last two editions. Neither country had won a game at the U20 Arab Cup before this edition, either.
Palestine’s senior side has not beaten Jordan since 1976 but Palestine has had the upper hand in direct confrontations at U22/23 level. These two teams faced off in a friendly last November that ended in a 1-1 draw.
The bracket will keep Asian and African teams apart until the final. If Palestine advances they will play the winner of Saudi Arabia/Yemen.
Al-Fidai will face off against Al-Nashama on Sunday July 31st, at 17:30 Jersualem time.
