It was a day that was much anticipated and oft delayed. Earlier today, Palestine’s future fixtures for their third straight appearance at an AFC Asian Cup finals came into focus.
Al-Fida’i will play an entirely new slate of opponents as they avoided getting drawn with Japan and Australia from Pot 1, as well as Jordan and Iraq from Pot 2.
The draw, which commenced with the drawing of the lowest ranked opponents in Pot 4, resulted in a manageable group for Palestine. Crucially, Makram Daboub’s side drew the second lowest ranked team at the finals- Hong Kong. Palestine have sparse history with Hong Kong having only faced them once at senior level. The two teams met back in 2001 in 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification the first meeting saw Emad Ayoub score independent Palestine’s first ever goal in World Cup qualification in a 1-1 draw. The home match (played in Doha) saw Fadi Lafi give the side a 1-0 win which kept them in the hunt for a place in Round 2.
Palestine have more recent history with the United Arab Emirates one of only three possible Pot 2 opponents Palestine had defeated. Palestine played out a 0-0 draw in Jerusalem back in September 2015 and suffered a controversial 2-0 loss in Abu Dhabi in March but the trajectory of both teams has changed radically since last meeting. Palestine are now a stronger team- especially in attack. Several key players had yet to make their debut the last time the two teams met- including Oday Dabbagh, Mohammed Rashid, Rami Hamadi, Yaser Hamed Mayor, Mahmoud Wadi, and Saleh Chihadeh.
Palestine have a 1-2-2 record against the Emiratis having scored twice and conceded six times in their five matches against Eyal Zayed. The UAE have made the semifinal of both previous tournaments but look to be a side on the decline following an underwhelming World Cup qualification campaign, a 5-0 schellacking at the hands of Qatar at the Arab Cup, and an early exit from the 2023 Gulf Cup in January.
Iran, the group favorite, is the only side Palestine have failed to beat. A disastrous 7-0 loss to Team Melli in October 2011 represents something of a sliding doors moment for Palestine. That loss led to the hiring of Jamal Mahmoud from Hilal Al-Quds which led to an steady improvement culminating with Palestine’s first qualification to an AFC Asian Cup on May 30th, 2014.
Palestine’s last encounter with Iran came just before the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with the teams playing out a 1-1 draw in Qatar in December 2018. They have a 0-2-3 record against Iran overall with a third draw coming in an unofficial match at the 2002 West Asian Games where an 89th minute equalizer from Gholam Enayati denied Palestine a famous win.
Palestine’s route to the knockout stages seems pretty clear thanks to the presence of Hong Kong. Three points and a healthy goal difference should be enough to deliver third place at a minimum. On a historical PPG basis Palestine has averaged 3.4 points against this slate of opponents and a four point haul seems well within reach.
Al-Fida’i will open Group C action against Iran on January 14th before taking on United Arab Emirates four days later. Their final group game will be against Hong Kong on January 2023.
In a slice of good luck, the second place team in Group C will not play a group winner and will instead face off against the second place team from Group A (Qatar, China, Lebanon, Tajikistan).
The Asian Football Confederation will announce the times and venues of each individual matches in the coming days.
