Palestine’s U20 team continue to defy the odds. A side that finished bottom of their WAFF Championship group less than a year ago is now just one of two Asian Sides left at the U20 Arab Cup.
Al-Fida’i booked their place in the quarterfinals following a 5-3 come from behind victory over Sudan and followed that up with a narrow 1-0 loss to Morocco which allowed them to advance as one of the best runners up.
The odd format of the 18 team tournament meant that Palestine would face Jordan a team who had eight days to recover from their last match against Yemen. Husam Younis’s men had less than 72 hours but the fatigue did not show at all in the first half.
Palestine were bailed out and then victimized by the referee in the opening 45 minutes of play. Al-Nahsama had a perfectly good goal (although one scored by abandoning the unwritten rules of fair play) chalked off in the fourth minute.
The team responded brilliantly by scoring in the eighth minute after Qais Hattab intercepted a weak goal kick and set Monir Al-Badarin running down the wing. The Botev Plovdiv midfielder delivered a perfect cross to the penalty spot which was met by the onrushing Mohammed Sandouqa for the opening goal.
Amr Dayeh equalized from the penalty spot for Jordan from the 41st minute. The Jordanians were awarded a penalty kick after Jamal Al-Badarin was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box. Replays would show that it hit the player’s chest.
Palestine were once again the better side to start the second half but began to fade as the match wore on. Jamal Al-Badarin nearly scored a sensation winner but saw his long range effort hit the bar. Husam Younis went to his bench to make four total reinforcements in the 60th and 70th minutes and Palestine were able to see the game out.
The U20 Arab Cup rules stipulated that the match would go straight to penalties and all five of Palestine’s takers were up to the task. Mohammed Sandouqa, Qais Taha, Khaled Abu El-Heija, Mohammed Shaltaf, and Monir Al-Badarin never looked like missing.
Mahdi Assi would step up to make a difference. The goalkeeper had gotten his hand on Jordan’s second penalty kick whilst diving to his right. On Jordan’s fifth and final attempt, Assi chose to go that direction again, coming up with a sensational save to send Palestine to the semifinals.
Al-Fida’i will now meet the winner of the Saudi Arabia-Yemen quarterfinal on Wednesday, August 3rd.
