Palestine’s Olympic Team will face Turkmenistan tomorrow as they attempt to qualify for the U23 Asian Cup for the second time in their history.
Action in Palestine’s qualifying group got underway on Monday with Jordan edging Turkmenistan 1-0. The breakthrough for the group’s hosts came after 67 minutes after a slew of missed opportunities. Al-Fida’i will hope that Turkmenistan’s tired legs will be a factor and allow them to capture a slight edge.
All ten group winners qualify alongside 2022 Finals hosts Uzbekistan and the winner of the Australia vs. Indonesia match up.
Palestine’s path is a little clearer now with one out of the three games in the books. A two goal win or even a victory by a one goal margin that generates two goals scored (or more) would see Palestine qualify as group winners should they draw Jordan. That scenario could be mutually beneficial to both teams- and with most final games kicking off before the River Jordan Derby- the teams would know exactly what they need to do in order to qualify.
Palestine is coming off a confident U23 WAFF campaign where they recorded two wins over Lebanon and UAE along with a narrow opening day loss to Iraq. Jordan who also recorded six points at the group stage ended up winning that tournament thanks to an upset victory over Saudi Arabia in the final.
Palestine’s ranks will be boosted by the presence of Ali Abu Alfa of Hertha Berlin, one of seven foreign based players in the roster. The full 23 man roster is as follows:
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