Want to become a part owner of a Palestinian Football Club? Join the movement and sign up to become a member of Canaan Football Club, here.
Palestine’s U20s have failed to qualify for the 2023 U20 AFC Asian Cup in spite of rounding off qualifying with a late 1-0 win over Laos.
Husam Younis’s men were always up against it following a 2-2 draw against Yemen in their opening fixture- throwing away a 2-0 lead despite playing with a man advantage. There was an overall feeling that four points would be not enough to qualify as one of the best runners up. That fear was confirmed earlier today although it was Yemen who finished in second place in Group C courtesy of better goal difference.
Japan’s status as overwhelming favorites was confirmed following a clean sweep of results that saw them score 22 goals and concede none. That included a shock 8-0 win over Palestine who dropped one of their best attacking players (Monir Al-Badarin), switched goalkeepers, and played a low block with five defenders against the Blue Samurai.
Whatever Husam Younis had in mind did not work and sticking with the original plan, in retrospect, might have served the team better.
In spite of the 8-0 loss, which caused the usual self flagellation and cynicism amongst fans, the team rebounded well to beat Group hosts 1-0 earlier today.
It may not seem a big result but Palestine had not won a U20 Asian Qualifier until 2019. The positive results (7 points from 12) are a step forward for a youth set up that has struggled since Palestine was admitted into FIFA and the AFC in 1998.
Palestine’s lone success at youth level remains qualifying for the U23 Asian Cup in 2018 and advancing to the quarterfinals of that tournament but there might be reason to hope for better results at youth level in the near future.
Two 15 year olds (born in 2006) scored in the WBPL’s opening week and a financial crisis might force clubs to field younger players in the near and long term.
Furthermore, Palestine was without their best player at U20 level- captain Khalid Al-Nabris- who was not released by Ismaily for this tournament.
While there should be blame directed towards the Palestinian Football Association for not doing more to foster youth teams and talent- the big picture should not be lost sight of- graduating players to the senior team is the most important thing at youth level.
The silver lining for this generation is that there seems to be players who are ready to make the jump to U23 level. The team that missed out in qualifying for last year’s finals is pretty young, meaning Mohammed Sandouqa, Monir Al-Badarin, and other members of this team will dovetails with the holdovers of the Olympic Team- including but not limited to: Khaled Al-Nabris, Mohammed Deriya, Ahmed Abu Hasanian, Anas Bani Odeh, Jamal Hamed, and Zeid Qombor.
