After much speculation the final squad to face Bahrain has finally been announced. The team will train in the interim period in Jordan before heading to Manama on March 22nd to face Bahrain in what will be their first match since successfully qualifying to the 2023 Asian Cup finals in June of last year.
The squad list features several notable absences. Chief amongst them is Oday Dabbagh who is currently recovering from a muscular injury and Abdelatif Bahdari who has also been excluded for an unspecified ailment. Also missing out due to injury are Hilal Al-Quds captain Mohammed Darweesh and Shabab Al-Khaleel goalkeeper Naim Abu Aker.
Earlier in the year there was much speculation as to whether Mahmoud Wadi would be able to hold onto his place in the national team after being exiled from his Egyptian club team- Pyramids FC. The Gazan has since gone on loan to Tale’a El-Geish and two goals in seven appearances has allowed him to retain his place.
The Qombor brothers- Zeid and Shehab- who had been in fine form for Jabal Al-Mukaber and Al-Wehdat respectively have been axed from the final list due to disciplinary reasons stemming from their behavior during the internal training camp.
Other players who were part of the qualifying squad but will not be around this time include: Saleh Chihadeh, Joaquin Abdala, Nicolas Zedan, Badr Moussa, Yazan Iwaiwi, and Mohammed Obeid.
No Country for Old Men
The two best attacking players in the WBPL this season? That would be Shabab Al-Dhahrieh’s Ali Adwi (31) and Hilal Al-Quds’s Mohammed Maraaba (29). In spite of standout seasons, Makram Dabboub has elected to leave them at home.
In the case of Adwi, we may never know what happened in camp during the FIFA Arab Cup but it is fair to conclude he did not take his chance and will most likely struggle to get a call up again, let alone a game. There is more than one casualty of the FIFA Arab Cup of course, the resurrection of Abuhabib did not feature a single minute of playing time either. Khaled Salem (33) is not coming back, much to the relief of the fan base and even Layth Kharoub (31) who has scored five goals in 11 matches has been excluded since Palestine’s bizarre loss to Jordan at the 974 Stadium.
The cull has not spared players on the other side of 30 either. Mahmoud Eid (29) is enjoying the best season of his career in Thailand but he has been passed over. Abdelsalam Salama (24), Ahmed Qatmish (25), and Reebal Dahamshe (20) have all been axed as well.
In the same spirit, expect Jonathan Cantillana (30) and Islam Batran (28) to be on something of a short leash. The latter is someone that Markam Dabboub has counted on to provide a spark off the bench while Jonathan could be experimented with in the midfield as opposed to out wide, where he was used during the Barakat and Ould Ali eras.
As for Maraaba, stylistically he may not fit what Markam Dabboub is trying to do- which is have his #9 create space for the other forwards to exploit areas in the attacking third. Playing as a poacher off the last shoulder of the defender is too limited of a job scope for a striker in this Palestine side.
New Faces
The rumored foreign based players to be joining the squad have had their identities revealed. Ameed Sawafta made the bold decision to leave the WBPL and sign with Naft Missian in Iraq and could possibly start at left back. Samir Maarouf pulled out of Asian Cup qualifying with an injury but is now finally in line to make his debut.
In total six uncapped players have been called up including three players born in the 21st Century.
The rest of the squad is as follows:
