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Starting XI: Rami Hamadi, Musa Farawi (Ameed Sawafta), Michel Termanini, Yaser Hamed Mayor (Mohammed Yamin), Mohammed Saleh, Samer Jondi; Ataa Jaber, Mohammed Rashid (Odai Kharoub), Musa Abu Warda; Tamer Seyam (Islam Batran), Saleh Chihadeh (Mahmoud Wadi)
Substitutions: Odai Kharoub <-> Mohammed Rashid 70′ // Islam Batran <-> Tamer Seyam 70′ // Ameed Sawafta <-> Musa Farawi 70′ // Mahmoud Wadi <-> Saleh Chihadeh 81′ // Mohammed Yamin <-> Yaser Hamed Mayor 84′
Cautions: Tamer Seyam 62′
Goals: Wu Lei 34′, Tyias Browning 65′
Recap: Makram Dabboub tinkered with his squad setting them up in a 3-5-2 formation. In came Michel Termanini and Saleh Chihadeh and out went Mohammed Yamin and Mahmoud Wadi. The team endured a bright start by the hosts over the first ten minutes before starting to come into their own. An aggressive press by Mohammed Rashid saw a poor clearance and the ball made its way to Mahmoud Abu Warda who conjured a speculative and soft shot in the 15th minute.
Minutes later Palestine won the ball in the attacking third and a trotting Ataa Jaber teed up Mahmoud Abu Warda again who lost his footing in the run up to his shot. Then it was China’s turn to test their luck. Rami Hamadi saved at a tight angle and then saw his crossbar rattled from the ensuing corner kick- an ominous sign of things to come. Tamer Seyam put a header into the side netting in the 27th minute which was another ominous sign for the team.
In the 34th minute China opened the scoring with a clever set play off a free kick. Palestine was asleep- perhaps still aggreived about the fact that a foul should not have been given in the first place. The Chinese carved up Palestine’s right side with a clever one-two and Samer Jondi failed to cover the space vacated by Mohammed Saleh leaving Wu Lei all alone to tap in the opener at the far post.
Palestine would have their chances and it was Ataa Jaber, who was doing a lot of good work in midfield, that showcased his danger from long range.
Makram Dabboub did not make any changes in the second half but Palestine were better. They left their defensive shell and started to press the issue. Winning countless headers in the opposition half. The equalizer seemed destined to come.
Good build up and a dangerous cross int he 60th minute found Saleh Chihadeh in the box who just managed to get the ball to the onrushing Tamer Seyam. The captain proceeded to hit the post from four yards out.
Palestine’s frustrations would continue as China doubled their lead through a corner kick. Tyias Browning bundling home after Rami Hamadi had saved the initial shot.
A raft of substitutions did not help Al-Fida’i. Seyam headed wide, Ameed Sawafta hit the post from a dangerous cross, and Mohammed Yamin took a chance off of Mahmoud Wadi to produce an atrocious header after tireless work from Mahmoud Abu Warda.
A 2-0 scoreline gives Makram Dabboub much to think about going forward. His team was not outclassed but their naivety was exposed and in a match featuring a (literally) big nation in Asia the margins of error are razor thin.
Tonight, China converted their chances and Palestine did not. Creativity in the middle was lacking but there were set piece opportunities and better crossing- a marked improvement from the 0-0 draw against Indonesia.
What I Liked: The performances of Ataa Jaber in midfield and Michel Termanini in defence were two positives. The latter showed that Palestine does have the personnel to play 3-5-2 (although the jury is still out on the fullbacks). Termanini did not put a foot wrong all game and was calm in possession. Jaber wreaked havoc in midfield and looks to be Palestine’s answer at the #8 position. Now if Palestine could pair him with a more advanced, attacking player they could be really on to something.
What I didn’t Like: Makram Dabboub waited too long to use his substitutes and that a pairing of Saleh Chihadeh and Mahmoud Wadi would have caused China problems. In general, Dabboub did not have a bench full of difference makers which is even more troubling. We used six defenders over the two matches. Mohammed Khalil, Mohammed Yousefin, Bashar Al-Shobaki, and El-Mehdi Issa did not get off the bench. Surely we could have left one or two home and taken an attacking player instead?
I will say it again. We need depth. I don’t think that Mahmoud Abu Warda or Tamer Seyam should be exiled or crucified for their misses today but it doesn’t make sense for a pair of WBPL players to be automatic starters. Seyam has not announced his club for next season- he needs to go abroad. The hat trick of misses today was horrible to watch and he needs to get back to match sharpness.
More tests needed: I understand that the likes of Zaid Qombor and Wajdi Nabhan are with the Olympic Team but what about Samir Maarouf? Or Ali Abu Alfa? Or Badr Moussa? OR Muhamed Alghoul?
This isn’t speculative name throwing; notice that I did not mention Yousef Emghames or Mohamed Darwish who have struggled for consistency at club level over the last 12 months. All mentioned above have played- and played well enough to merit a call up. I get that we will have to throw the likes of Musa Farawi and Samer Jondi into the fire and hope they can learn on the job because there aren’t any seasoned alternatives to them- but in attack? There are plenty to choose from.
Now we are left with only two friendly windows before the real games start. In September, the Olympic team will have Paris 2024 qualifying to worry about- leaving only the Merdeka Cup as a possible testing ground before World Cup qualification kicks off in November.
What’s Next: Palestine is planning a friendly with Vietnam for the September window but neither party has confirmed its finalization as of yet.
