Palestine’s U20 team got their 2022 Arab Cup campaign underway earlier today in Abha and the collection of WBPL players and diaspora talents did not disappoint. Husam Younis’s side showed some promise last year during the U18 WAFF Championship but were plagued by poor finishing as they finished bottom of their group.
Preparation for the Arab Cup was mired by the news that the team’s two standout players would not be available during the tournament. Khalid Nabris was not released by Ismaily who are fighting against relegation in Egypt while Josef Al-Subaihi accepted a call to join Jordan’s U20 team (although he wasn’t selected for the Arab Cup).
Those issues however were quickly forgotten about as Palestine sprung to life following a hesitant start to their match against Sudan. Monir Al-Badarin’s excellent pass found Mohammed Sandouqa who teed up Mohammed Mahmoud for the opener. Sudan would strike back before halftime from a free kick that was deflected in for the equalizer.
Sudan then scored five minutes after the break to make it 2-1 before Palestine equalized through Al-Badarin from the penalty spot.
Sudan seemed destined to win following a world class free kick from Amjad Jibril. The score was 3-2 with less than eight minutes left in the match before Palestine mounted a comeback for the ages.
Karim Sheikhqasem and the defence did well to keep the gap to a lone goal before substitutes Danny Derbas and Qais Hattab linked up for the equalizer. Shoddy goalkeeping from Sudan played a big part in that goal and Palestine sensed blood was in the water- peppering the Sudanese goal until the winner arrived- courtesy of Mohammed Sandouqa. Danny Derbas rounded out the performance with a fifth goal (from five different players).
Palestine now top Group F on goals scored and will face Morocco on July 28th. They can advance to the quarterfinals with a win or a draw against Morocco. Due to the quirky nature of this 18 team tournament Morocco and Palestine will know exactly what they’ll need to advance to the knockout stage before kickoff.
