What: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier (Round Three)
Where: King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman, Jordan
When: June 10th, 2025
Kickoff: 21:15 Jerusalem Time
TV/Streams: Subscribe to Football Palestine on Substack to receive a streaming link to your inbox one hour before kickoff.
Previous Encounters:
14.11.2024: Oman 1:0 Palestine (2026 World Cup Qualifier)
06.09.2023: Oman 2:1 Palestine (Friendly)
27.03.2018: Oman 1:0 Palestine (2019 Asian Cup Qualifier)
13.06.2017: Palestine 2:1 Oman (2019 Asian Cup Qualifier)
14.12.2012: Oman 2:1 Palestine (2012 WAFF Championship)
Win and In
When the draw and fixtures were announced it seemed likely that Palestine’s fate would be decided on the final day. After all, trips to Seoul and Basra came before any encounter with their presumptive rivals for the last playoff spot in the group.
One year on and that is indeed the case. Palestine’s hopes seemed dead and buried when they suffered a 1-0 loss in Muscat seven months ago. Two points at the halfway point meant that the margin for error was all but gone.
Another draw against Korea Republic, a historic win against Iraq, and the first away win of the campaign in Kuwait City has totally flipped the script. Al-Fida’i were written off by everyone in the media- the players did not write back.
Now Oman faces the daunting prospect of a trip to Amman, a place that has not been kind to them in the past.
In the qualification campaign for Brazil 2014, A draw against Jordan was all that was needed for Oman to secure a playoff date against Uzbekistan. There was even the possibility of direct qualification if Australia failed to win against Iraq and Oman nabbed all three points. None of that came to fruition as Jordan emerged 1-0 victors against arguably the best Omani generation of players.
The scenario is the same on Tuesday. Oman only needs a draw. Palestine must win.
Stat Attack
- Musab Al-Battat is now eight caps away from equalling the record held by Abdelatif Bahdari for most appearances with the national team (80)
- Tamer Seyam scored his 15th international goal against Kuwait. That strike puts him ahead of Fahed Attal and one behind top scorer Oday Dabbagh.
- Oday Dabbagh notched his sixth national team assist to give him a total of 22 goal involvements in his career. Only Tamer Seyam (30) has more.
- Mohamad Hebous and Agustín Manzur made their debuts. Manzur is the fifth Argentine born player to debut with the national team following in the footsteps of Pablo Abdala, Raul Alejandro Naif, Daniel Kabir Mustafa, and Carlos Salom.
Emotions
Former AC Milan and Italy Arrigo Sacchi was famous for his astute technical approach to the game but he also said that “football is 90% emotional.”
If that is the case, then Oman has to recover from the hangover of losing 3-0 and face a totally different reality than the one it was planning for at the beginning of the window.
This is the last chance for a generation of Omani players who have been lauded for punching above their weight but have only a single win at an Asian Cup finals and the 2018 Gulf Cup to show for it.
In addition to the emotional toll of the 3-0 loss there is a physical hurdle to overcome as well. Oman’s starting lineup against Jordan had an average age of 30.2. That average age will come down as Ali Al-Busaidi (34) will miss out due to yellow card accumulation.
Rashid Jaber deployed a five man back line in an attempt to stifle Jordan’s attack and while it worked for forty five minutes it was brutally exposed in the second half as the wing backs vacated their positions in search of an equalizer.
Rashid Jaber is likely to revert to his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation but his biggest job will not involve a tactical board- he has to find a way to instill belief in a side that has fallen at the last hurdle more than once in recent history.
Oman lost the 2023 Gulf Cup in the last kick of extra time. A year later, the team was ten minutes away from clinching a spot in the knockout round of the Asian Cup but conceded to Kyrgyzstan- the only goal they scored in the entire tournament. That game was decisive because of a collapse in the final 12 minutes of their opening game against Saudi Arabia.
This past winter they looked set to capture the Gulf Cup only for another final twelve minute collapse overturned their 1-0 lead.
Palestine on Track
The Palestine Football Association on Instagram presented their final three games as finals. Two wins on the trot has set up the final Final. In the aftermath of the Jordan defeat qualification for Round 4 seemed highly unlikely.
The mood amongst the players before the Iraq match was one of exasperation and frustration rather than determination. A last second victory against The Lions of Mesopotamia has set this team free and it is as if they are playing with house money.
This is the situation they aimed to be in at the start of qualification that looked improbable after five match days and near impossible after seven. Should the team qualify it will be the first time they find themselves above the elimination line.
The only setback for the team is an injury to Ataa Jaber which is set to keep him out of the encounter. Hamed Hemdan returns from suspension to provide cover at the position and given that the Petrojet player can also play as a centre back we could see Mohammed Saleh dropped from the match day squad in favor of another attacker or midfielder.
Given the team’s momentum, expect ten of the eleven starters to return with only Ataa Jaber’s absence being addressed. That said, how the team approaches the game could be completely different.
Palestine’s fullbacks bombed forward in Abu Jazar’s first two games but rarely ventured forward against Kuwait. The hosts enjoyed plenty of sterile possession but Palestine’s defensive positioning meant Kuwait were repelled every time they attempted to enter the final third. When Kuwait did threaten it came vis-a-vis set pieces. It was not pretty- Palestine had a 34% possession on the night- but it was effective. Palestine could have put the game to bed early in the second half had they not been wasteful with their finishing.
As the home side and the only team on the pitch that needs to win it is unlikely Abu Jazar will take this approach again. How much to attack and how early will be a big decision for the manager who will look to complete and improbable comeback and make history.
