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Palestine Starting XI: Abdelhadi Yassin, Musab Al-Battat (C) (Abada Baroud 80’), Mohammed Saleh, Khalid Abu El Haija, Wajdi Nabhan; Badr Moussa (Mohammed Balah 76’), Hamed Hemdan (Agustín Manzur 60’), Ameed Sawafta (Odai Kharoub 76’), Zaid Qunbar; Khaled Al-Nabris (Moustafa Zeidan 60’), Oday Dabbagh (Francisco Politino 60’)

FULL MATCH

HIGHLIGHTS:

Recap: It was not supposed to be like this. Palestine were supposed to face Tajikistan and India and then were supposed to face Kenya and Kyrgyzstan before they were left playing Kyrgyzstan twice.

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Matches against the home team in Bishkek are never a straight forward affair even in low stakes friendlies. Perhaps those involved will look back at this doubleheader as a useful learning experience. It would have been hoped to see more wholesale changes in this match. Robert Prosinecki made ten, Ehab Abu Jazar made five starting Abed Yassin, Wajdi Nabhan, Ameed Sawafta, Badr Moussa, and Khaled Al-Nabris in place of Rami Hamadi, Ahmed Taha, Odai Kharoub, Tamer Seyam, and Agustín Manzur.

There was a change in shape too. Palestine was in a 4-4-2. They also pressed high up and as a result dominated the proceedings of the first half. Badr Moussa could have opened the scoring in the sixth minute after latching on to Khaled Al-Nabris’s pass. Al-Nabris should have at least put his shot on target a minute later after latching on to Musab Al-Battat’s ensuing corner.

On 20 minutes Hamed Hemdan was sprung open thanks to a clever one-two with Zaid Qunbar. The Pyramids FC midfielder culminated his penetrating run with a shot that caught Arten Pryadkin off guard and his flailing arm only slowed its progress towards the net. The reserve goalkeeper was able to turn around and collect the ball on the line just as it seemed it was about to loop in.

Palestine continued to pour forward but only had a couple of wayward shots to show for their effort as the first half petered out.

As in the first match between the two sides, Ehab Abu Jazar decided against make substitutions at half time. Palestine’s best chance of the night fell to Zaid Qunbar ten minutes into the second half but he shot straight at the goalkeeper wasting a perfect cross from captain Musab Al-Battat.

A minute later, Khaled Al-Nabris headed a corner kick delivery straight at the goalkeeper. Ehab Abu Jazar then rang in the subs as did his opposite number and the match devolved into an ugly stalemate.

What I Liked: Khalid Abu El Haija got 120 minutes of action. Abed Yassin made his first start and kept a clean sheet. Hamed Hemdan is a dynamo and this is quickly becoming his midfield. Starting Badr Moussa made us infinitely more dangerous in transition.

What I didn’t Like: Musab Al-Battat was carted off injured and there was really no reason to have him play another 90 minutes. He could and should have been subbed off for Emilio Saba on the hour mark. I also found it slightly peculiar (and this might be down to unreported injuries) that Mohammed Saleh got another start and another 90 minutes of game time. Watching him next to Abu El Haija just accentuates all that he lacks- calmness in possession, passing accuracy, and the ability to carry the ball out of defence without causing fans to die of cardiac arrest.

Stock Up: If you are Adam Kaied or Mohamed Hebous then this was the perfect result for you. Badr Moussa is the only player that can offer something in transition.

Khalid Abu El Haija could become a starter before the Asian Cup which would free Mahajna to play in midfield.

More Changes? Sultan Abu Daken left camp as playing for Palestine would have jeopardized his local player status with Hatta in the UAE Pro League. Francisco Politino was a sub in both matches and Abdulhadi Rashid and Abada Baroud got cameo appearances. I could see all names discarded in future camps in favour of other names as Ehab Abu Jazar looks to build out the rest of his squad.

Scenario Practicing? Once the subs came on it seemed that Palestine was practicing how to defend a result as opposed to looking to build play. Kyrgyzstan had the lion’s share of possession. Palestine threatened in transition a couple of time and then that threat disappeared when Badr Moussa was hauled off with 15 minutes to go. If that was the plan then they passed with the test. That said, it is rather frustrating to see attacking substitutions being made only for them to be starved of the ball.

Fan Reaction: I don’t think drawing with Kyrgyzstan away, in a friendly, without some key players is a bad result. This is a friendly and the most important thing is to learn and build. Palestine would not have gone on a run in the Arab Cup if they didn’t get shellacked by Algeria (A’) and Euskadi in the buildup.

There also has to be a realization that Kyrgyzstan are not cannon fodder but a tough side when playing on their home pitch.

Right on queue there are calls for a foreign manager to be brought in. As if that would be a silver bullet. Abu Jazar is by no means perfect but in a year and a half he solved the problem at left back and rebuilt the midfield around Hamed Hemdan. He capped Khalid Abu El Haija and Emilio Saba future proofing the defence. Now he just has to figure out the complementary pieces in attack. That requires time and testing.

What’s Next: Palestine has no matches planned for the rest of the summer and will likely feature again in late September when the next FIFA matchday rolls around.

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Depending on your location, you should be able to live stream the match using one of the following links. Kickoff is set for 17:30 Jerusalem time.

The following links should help you watch the game. The Kyrgyz Sport YouTube Channel link was more stable the last time out. Keep in mind that if you stream on Palestine Sport TV’s Facebook Page that they will stream the second half in a separate post.

Link 1: Palestine Sport TV Facebook Page

Link 2: Kyrgz Sport YouTube Channel

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Palestine Starting XI: Rami Hamadi, Musab Al-Battat, Mohammed Saleh, Khalid Abu El Haija, Ahmed Taha (Wajdi Nabhan 58’) ; Agustin Manzúr (Khaled Al-Nabris 58’), Odai Kharoub (Ameed Sawafta 58’), Hamed Hemdan (Abdulhadi Rashed 80’); Tamer Seyam (Badr Moussa 58’), Zaid Qunbar, Oday Dabbagh (Francisco Politino 75’)

FULL MATCH

HIGHLIGHTS

Recap: Palestine and Kyrgyzstan met for the first time in nearly five years in Bishkek tonight. A friendly in Asia five days out from the start of the World Cup featuring two teams not headed to North America was not top billing amongst the slew of other friendlies. In spite of the lack of glamour, the friendly was of upmost importance for both sides whose attention is no squarely focused on the 2027 Asian Cup in January.

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The first quarter of the game was testy and featured little in the way of fluid play for either team. Palestine’s first real chance came off of a poorly cleared corner kick that bounced out to Hamed Hemdan had the first shot followed by a quick transition that required Rami Hamadi to make a routine save.

Kyrgyzstan then carved out two scoring opportunities following a corner kick and free kick but Rami Hamadi snuffed out the danger on both occasions.

Palestine then found some rhythm with Manzur dropping deeper to collect and build. Hamed Hemdan ended up the most advanced of the midfield trio and a rocket shot was goalbound until a late intervention by the Kyrgyz keeper parried it wide.

The rest of the first half fell into a pattern Palestine would win a corner- fail to capitalize on it and thend struggle to defend Kyrgyzstan’s counterattacks. For their part, the hosts also won a slew of corner kicks as well.

The biggest indictment of first half proceedings was that Oday Dabbagh, starved of the ball, was largely anonymous. The team’s lack of speed either side of him and the inclusion of three more defensive midfielders meant the team was solid but lacked fluidity in possession and a threat in transition.

One would have expected to see personnel changes at the break to remedy the problem but Palestine trotted out an unchanged lineup. The players did comeout with more urgeny and the first two minutes saw Palestine generate good ream play and chances that Tamer Seyam and Ahmed Taha failed to steer on target.

Zaid Qunbar had the best chance of the night but his header off a freekick from Tamer Seyam was saved by Erzhan Tokotayev.

The changed did come ten minutes into the second half with a quadruple substitution that saw Khaled Al-Nabris, Wajdi Nabhan, Ameed Sawafta, and Badr Moussa take the places of Agustin Manzúr, Ahmed Taha, Odai Kharoub, and Tamer Seyam. Moussa and Sawafta were particularly effective at influencing proceedings and it looked like Palestine would find a deserved goal.

That breakthrough was not to come and when Hamed Hemdan went down with cramps with ten minutes to go there was no like-for-like replacement. Abdulhadi Rashed came on for his first official cap but Palestine’s grip on midfield had been loosened and the match peetered out.

What I Liked: The attitude in the second half. Palestine looked like a different team, pressing and harrying Kyrgyzstan and proving that they are indeed the better team. Kyrgyzstan are stubborn opponents at home and the way the match played out it was effective in mimicking a competitive match.

There were several bright spots. Abu El Haija showed how much he has developed over the last six months and could be an important part of the next cycle. I also thought Ameed Sawafta and Badr Moussa acquitted themselves well off the bench and should be in line to start the next match.

What I didn’t Like: It was great to see Khaled Abu El Haija start for the first time. That said, I am not sure inverting the centrebacks really helped all that much. For the longest time, Palestine was a threat down the right flank due to the overlapping runs of Musab Al-Battat. He was starved for service because Mohammed Saleh struggles in possession and so no switching ball found its way to him in the first half.

In attack, I have serious doubts that a front three that depends on Qunbar and Seyam to give service to Dabbagh can be truly effective. There needs to be speed on at least one flank and things worked much better when Badr Moussa came on.

Finally, the decision to play no true number ten in midfield backfired on multiple counts. The team really couldn’t find a rhythm in the first half and only improved when Agustín Manzúr dropped back to his natural position and Hamed Hemdan took his place. There was no metronome passing but at least he could press to better effect.

Record Holder: Musab Al-Battat now has the same amount of caps as Abdelatif Al-Bahdari (80). The right back made his debut in 2013 and has featured in every Asian Cup and World Cup qualification campaign since. Ramzi Saleh’s tenure ran from 2000-2015 but Al-Battat’s consistency is unparalleled having featured in at least one match every year with the exception of 2020 (due to COVID).

Changes Needed: This is a settled national team squad largely due the fact that the PFA made the call to hire Ehab Abu Jazar before the World Cup cycle. There are some veterans with close to 50 or more appearances- the captains and the two Odays- Dabbagh and Kharoub- fall into this category. Everyone else, bar the centrebacks (Michel Termanini, Yaser Hamed, and Mohammed Saleh all have between 31 and 42 caps) are relatively new additions to the set up.

Qunbar has 23 caps having made his debut back in 2023. Sawafta has 11. Hemdan and Moussa have 10. Everyone else has less than eight official caps with the national team.

In spite of that it is relatively clear that certain things are settled like the fullback, goalkeeper, central midfielder, and striker positions but other positons are more problematic. Tamer Seyam might not be effective as a starter anymore and the next friendly should feature a different profile player in his place. Sultan Abou Daken should be given a debut and Moustafa Zeidan should be given a chance to run the show in midfield.

What’s Nest: Palestine and Kyrgyzstan will cross swords once again on Tuesday, June 9th at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium Kickoff is set for 17:30 Jerusalem Time.

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Depending on your location, you should be able to live stream the match using one of the following links. Kickoff is set for 17:30 Jerusalem time.

The following links should help you watch the game. Should you not be able to access- try using a VPN to change your location.

Link 1: Palestine Sport TV Facebook Page

Link 2: Kyrgz Sport YouTube Channel

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There has never been an age with so much interest and attention in football. For football fans this can be considered a positive. Unlike a generation ago, it is infinitely easier to access verified news about your club or follow your favourite player on a slew of social media platforms. Adjacent content is no longer the remit of big broadcasters with normal fans putting out their own, often times superior product.

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The interest and passion in football has led to an explosion of investment. Clubs, particularly those in the top flight of English football, are no longer run by a chairman plucked from the local business community. Instead, American hedge fund owners and state backed entities now sit atop some of the world’s most iconic clubs. They have brought bags of cash to fund ambitious sporting projects and have turned to multinationals for sponsorships. Gone are the days of a sponsorship from a local plumbing company or even something like Newcastle Brown Ale sponsoring Newcastle.

As money has taken over the game it has become prohibitively expensive with costs rising at the gate and in the gift shop, even TV subscriptions rates have exploded.

This makes the findings of War on Want’s report entitled Red Card: English Premier League sportswashing of Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinians even more depressing.

The report’s executive summary reads:

“By promoting these companies to fans and followers of the EPL, and by associating them with their clubs’ beloved names, the clubs aresportswashing1 the companies and normalising the atrocities. This is not only unethical but risks rendering them complicit in war crimes. Considerable work has been done to highlight the EPL’s sponsorship by other harmful sectors, including fossil fuels, gambling3 and alcohol. However very little has been done until now to highlight the EPL’s links with what are arguably the gravest and best-documented war crimes of this century, those carried out by Israel against the Palestinian people.”

Full Report Here

A handy table was put together to highlight the worst offenders and companies that were complicit in Israel’s human rights violations:

While the report only covers the twenty clubs that competed in the 2025/26 English Premier League it is highly likely that clubs outside of the Premier League are also implicated.

Which leads us to the ultimate question: What should fans do to avoid associating and encouraging this behavior. The knee jerk reaction would to organize a boycott of some sort but given the emotional connection many have with their clubs that is unlikely to be effective.

One only has to look at the protests lodged against the Glazers at Manchester United to recognize the futility of such an endeavor

Football Palestine has put together a list of actions fans should consider taking to voice their displeasure:

1. Stop Purchasing Official Merchandise

If you are a fan of a big club there are many ways you can go about this. There are no shortage of options. Fans can buy back stock or second hand jerseys. There are websites that sell vintage style shirts and of course you can engage in the dark arts of buying a fake jersey from the likes of DHgate.

2. Cancel your TV subscription

There is nothing that irks the suits that run football more than the presence of fans who simply cannot afford to shell out close to $1,000 a year to watch their team’s Premier League and Champions League games. Fans have since resorted to illegal streaming sites to get their fix at a discount. There are even providers who will provide you with a device or Smart TV application to watch all the football you want at a tenth of the cost.

3. Unfollow the club on social media

Social media follows and likes are a very soft currency but if hundreds of thousands unfollow a brand it can send a very powerful message. Moreover, as the world has moved online social media following and engagement have provided an added revenue stream through monetization and brand partnerships.

4. Consider defecting

The vast majority of Liverpool fans are not from Liverpool. Arsenal fans are found in large numbers outside of North London and Manchester United are infamous for their base of support outside their home city.

If you are a fan of the Premier League chances are you do not reside in England and thus made a choice to support your current team. You could just as easily make the choice to support another team in your hometown. Yes, it means a drop in quality (although the EPL this season had no shortage of teams playing haram ball- including champions Arsenal) but you and your cohorts will be more valued.

You could just watch the game as a neutral and support Palestine during the international breaks. If that’s something that interests you, you can purchase a Palestine jersey below. Premium Subscribers get a 10% discount:

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The Palestine Football Association published a list of 29 players that will participate in a preparatory camp in Doha ahead of next month’s friendlies against Kenya and Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek.

The most notable absences in the list are Assad Al-Hamlawi, Wessam Abou Ali, and Ataa Jaber who all miss out due to injury. The former picked up a knock on the penultimate day of the Romanian league season that will require 20 days rest.

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Al-Rayan’s Amid Mahajneh has also not recovered from an injury picked up in March.

The only other player from the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup to miss out is Mahmoud Abu Warda. The soon to be 31 year old’s 44 caps is good enough for 15th all-time in national team history but he seems to have fallen victim to a youth movement.

There are also no calls for Mohammed Rashid (10th most capped player in national team history) and Islam Batran who had found form with Syria’s Al-Karameh.

There is a recall for Mohammed Balah who was in Gaza for the first eight months of the genocide and rebuilt his career in Egypt and Qatar. The 33 year old is the oldest member of the team and was last called up in August 2019.

The list also includes four new names Gianni Touma (Lokomtiv Plovdiv/BUL), Abdelhadi Rashid (Al-Ansar/LIB), Abada Baroud (Ohod Club/KSA), and Sultan Abu Daken (Hatta Club/UAE)

There are also recalls for Adam Kaied, Mohamad Hebous, and Agustín Manzur.

Several South American outlets have reported that Argentine born Caín Fara has been called up and is only missing the final approval from FIFA to make his debut. His call up has been in the works for more than a year and was first teased by Football Palestine back in July 2025:

The rest of the squad is as follows:

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Palestine’s plans for the June window seemed to be all set to go last week. The All India Football Federation announced to its clubs that they would be heading to Dushanbe to face Palestine on June 6th.

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Several sources had confirmed to Football Palestine that a friendly against Tajikistan on June 1st had been agreed upon and the addition of a second friendly in the same location seemed to make sense from a logistical perspective.

As is their nature, the Palestine Football Association did not announce either friendly. So it should come as no surprise that earlier this week another Football Association- this time Kenya- announced that they, and not India, would face Palestine on June 6th in Bishkek.

The Kyrgyz Football Union has now announced that a friendly against Palestine will take place on June 9th with kickoff set for 18:30 local time.

In a separate post, Kenyan Football has also confirmed their friendly with Palestine.

[Update May 20th] Ehab Abu Jazar had originally wanted to retain the friendly against Tajikistan on June 1st but the TFF wanted a commitment to play both friendlies. As a result, Palestine will not travel to Dushanbe and will instead play Kenya and Kyrgyz Republic in Bishkek following an extended training camp that will start on Saturday and conclude on June 2nd.

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Palestine will make their long awaited 2026 debut in Dushanbe, Tajikistan next month with a pair of friendlies.

Ehab Abu Jazar’s men were supposed to play a pair of March friendlies in Morocco against Benin and Mauritania but the Iran War rendered travel an impossibility.

The national team staff had cast a wide net and approached dozens of national teams in an attempt to schedule a friendly in the window but were ultimately rebuffed.

Qatar will play host to training camp that will involve the Qatar based players this week but more will join as the 2025/26 season draws to a close.

Palestine will play Tajikistan on June 1st and face India five days later. Palestine last faced Tajikistan in October 2018 while their last match against the Blue Tigers came back in 2014.

Palestine have never lost to either national team nor have they face either team in official competition.

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The draw for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup was conducted on Saturday evening in the historic At-Turaif district in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

The 2027 edition will represent Palestine’s fourth participation at the finals having punched their ticket to every edition since Australia 2015.

Palestine’s group will include some familiar foes. The team’s last competitive match was a FIFA Arab Cup quarterfinal against Saudi Arabia back in December 2025. The two teams will lock horns again, this time in the opening match that will kick off the tournament at the King Fahd Sports City Stadium on January 7th, 2027.

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Palestine will travel to Al-Kobar five days later to face Kuwait before rounding up group play against Oman on January 17th at Al-Awwal Park.

In the post-draw reaction Oman manager Tarik Sekitoui described Group A as “being amongst the hardest and also the most competitive due to the presence of four Arab teams.”

Palestine manager Ehab Abu Jazar expressed his happiness at being drawn to play the opening match and stated plainly that “each team in the group has an equal chance.”

It was a theme reiterated by Kuwait boss Helio Sousa.

Gerogios Donis, who recently took the helm of Saudi Arabia, laid down the gauntlet for his team stating his desire to lift the trophy.

“Generally, the draw was very interesting. We respect all opponents and we have to be ready for the tournament. We have some priorities now which is to build the team with my philosophy. It will be normal to have a lot of focus on the team because we are the hosts but we have the experience to manage that. It’s nice to have Palestine as the first opponent, we know their troubles but we will be focused to start well.”

The rest of the groups are as follows:

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Palestine clinched their fourth successive Asian Cup finals appearance by virtue of their performance in World Cup qualification back in 2024. Now the draw is set to determine the six groups of four.

The draw will be broadcast on the AFC’s YouTube page and Football Palestine’s subscribers can participate in our live watchalong here.

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