What: 2023 Asian Cup Qualification
When: June 11th, 2022
Where: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Kickoff: 12 PM Jerusalem Time
Previous Encounters:
- 15.06.2021 | Palestine 3:0 Yemen | 2022 FIFA WCQ
- 14.11.2019 | Yemen 1:0 Palestine | 2022 FIFA WCQ
- 30.07.2019 | Palestine 1:0 Yemen | 2019 WAFF C’ship
- 22.03.2017 | Palestine 1:0 Yemen | Friendly
- 18.06.2012 | Yemen 1:2 Palestine | Friendly
- 27.09.2010 | Palestine 1:3 Yemen | 2010 WAFF C’ship
Last Time out
Palestine opened Asian Cup qualifying with a 1-0 win over Mongolia.
Yemen drew 0-0 with the Philippines.
A Rivalry Renewed
The last time these two sides met, it resulted in absolute heartbreak for a Palestine side that had serious ambitions to advance for the Third Round of 2022 World Cup qualification. That dream came crashing down after Mahmoud Abu Warda was sent off after collecting two yellow cards in the first half. Things did not improve in the second half as a mixup between goalkeeper Toufic Ali and Yaser Hamed Mayor gifted Yemen the go-ahead goal.
Palestine then spent the remainder of the game spurning chance after chance as the tactical deficiencies of former manager Noureddine Ould Ali were laid bare.
Palestine alleviated that pain by convincingly beating Yemen 3-0 in Saudi Arabia last year to close out World Cup qualifying but that loss remains an open wound for many of the players and fans who lived it.
Yemen seeks to do the impossible- again.
Yemen’s qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup was remarkable to say the least and despite not scoring a single goal or registering a single point in their maiden campaign they parlayed that experience into some convincing performances in the next cycle. In addition to beating Palestine they drew Singapore and Saudi Arabia by identical 2-2 score lines and were impressive against Uzbekistan in a 1-0 loss. In that spirit, the country’s U15 team won the WAFF Championship beating Saudi Arabia in the final.
The man now at the helm is Algerian manager Adel Armouche who previously coached the likes of Burundi, Kenya, and Botswana before taking charge of Yemen earlier this year.
Yemen might not have scored in over 12 hours and eight straight games coming into their encounter vs Palestine but only a fool would discount their ability to create problems. This team, despite containing a generation of players who have never played in consistent League football, is not interested in capitulation.
On paper, Yemen is better than Mongolia but in order to qualify they’ll need to find a way to pick up points in each of their remaining games. That starts with picking up at least a point against group favorites Palestine.
Palestine struggle, net three points
For 85 minutes, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for Palestine. Mohammed Darweesh was forced off the pitch with an injury. The team had 72% possession but could not find a way past the resilient Mongolian defence that packed the box with eight players.
The state of the pitch made it hard to implement a short passing game as rubber pellets went flying with every kick of the ball. With Palestine’s back up against the wall, Makram Dabboub decided to alter things at the start of the second half.
The 4-3-3 morphed into a 4-4-2 with Joaquin Abdala taking up a position on the left and Saleh Chihahdeh playing alongside Mahmoud Wadi. The pace of the game changed but an opener eluded the team. On the hour mark reinforcements were called in Musab Al-Battat, Badr Moussa and later Oday Dabbagh and Mahmoud Abu Warda brought added energy and in the 85th penalty Palestine won a penalty. Dabbagh stepped up and converted to spare Palestine the ignominy of dropping points to a team ranked 86 spots below them in the FIFA ranking.
How things are likely to unfold
The performance was followed by doom and gloom on the part of Palestine supporters who did not seem to appreciate the difficulty of the encounter.
In spite of the negative mood of the supporters there were some positives to take from the performance. The players did not panic or lose their cool. No bookings were picked up and defensively, Mongolia were limited to two speculative shots from distance. The hosts did not manage a single shot on goal and their only corner came with seconds left in the game.
The likes of Musab Al-Battat, Oday Dabbagh, and Mahmoud Abu Warda should be in line for starts next week rested and refreshed having played 30 minutes or less against Mongolia.
In the larger scheme of things, the only thing that matters for Palestine is that they got the three points. That result has them at the top of the group and in control of their own destiny ahead of their match against Yemen.
For their part, Yemen has to figure out a way to score- they were the more dangerous team against Philippines but will now face off against a team that knows them well and has quicker and more adept defenders.
Yemen are likely to pose far more of a threat on the break and set pieces; in posing that threat they will leave Palestine more space to operate in their half of the pitch. Tight matches in Asia are usually settled by quality players and Palestine boast more quality in their side.
By Adel Amrouche’s own admission, Yemen is a young side that is building for the future. The future is very much now for this battle hardened side- Omar Al-Dahi (22) and Ahmad Al-Sarori (23) ply their trades in Egypt and and Morocco respectively and their quality on the break was evident against the Philippines. Their threat is something Palestine will have to account for.
A second game in four days having landed in Mongolia a mere 27 hours before the opener against Philippines might see Yemen peter out as the game wears on. Palestine might have to find a way to win in the latter stages but with more winning cards in their hand, Al-Fida’i should triumph.
Prediction: Palestine 2 Yemen 0
