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Palestine Starting XI: Rami Hamadi, Musab Al-Battat ©, Mohammed Saleh, Michel Termanini, Camilo Saldaña, Odai Kharoub, Mohammed Rashid, Mahmoud Abu Warda, Tamer Seyam, Zaid Qunbar, Oday Dabbagh
Substitutions: Mohammed Rashid<->Ataa Jaber 64’ // Mahmoud Abu Warda <-> Islam Batran 80’ // Zaid Qunbar <-> Shehab Qunbar 80’ // Camilo Saldaña <-> Samer Jondi 90’ // Odai Kharoub <-> Samer Zubaida 90’
Cards: Ataa Jaber 90+9’
Goals:
UAE: Sultan Adil 21′
Palestine: Bader Abdelaziz 50’ (Own Goal)
Recap:
An electric atmosphere greeted Palestine at the Al-Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakra. The near capacity crowd were in full voice following the anthems as chants of “Free Palestine!” thundered down from the stands. Even the minute’s silence had to be curtailed as shouts kept raining on the field.
Al-Fida’i started the game the better of two sides and won the game’s first corner after only five minutes. One of the big talking points in the build up to the game was Makram Daboub’s deployment of a 4-4-2 formation after the 4-3-3 had served him so well in Asian and World Cup qualifiers over the last two and a half years. The Tunisian tactician stuck with the 4-4-2 for this match in spite of the heavy 4-1 loss suffered at the hands of Iran on Sunday.
As Palestine lined up for its first corner of the game rain started to pour onto the pitch. In the Arab World, rain is a blessing and a sign of good fortune and it looked like it was to be Palestine’s day.
For the first twenty minutes Al-Fida’i proceeded to dictate the tempo of the match.
A couple of box entries were dealt with but the harbinger of bad fortune was present on Palestine’s right flank as Abdullah Idrees, Caio Canedo, and Sultan Adil were drifting into space vacated by Musab Al-Battat
Before the scoring was opened by the United Arab Emirates the crowd was audibly hostile to the Emiratis. Vociferous booing rung out in the stadium following UAE’s first corner kick in the eighth minute.
A foiled Palestine counter attack allowed Ali Saleh to send in a cross which Sultan Adil- who had been lucky to escape a red card for elbowing Mohammed Saleh- to head home.
Palestine redoubled their efforts and a potential hand ball could have given them a penalty kick only moments later. As Palestine poured forward they were awarded with corner after corner.
Oday Dabbagh was a constant menace and he was the source of what seemed to be the Palestinian breakthrough in the 35th minute.
Palestine did not get the call initially but a VAR intervention sent the referee to the monitor and a red card was shown to Khalifa Mubarak in addition to a penalty kick.
A long conversation ensued between the two Jerusalemites as to who would take it. Tamer Seyam won that argument but saw Khaled Eissa save his spot kick.
Palestine continued to hammer away for the remainder of the first half. A teasing cross from Musab Al-Battat nearly squeezed its way in only for Khaled Hashemi to clear off the line.
Palestine came onto the pitch to the tune of Dammi Falastini and an amazing lights show. Cameras captured Oday Dabbagh reciting Al-Fatiha on the touchline in one of the best scenes of the Asian Cup. UAE were greeted by persistent boos as they trotted onto to the pitch.
Palestine were in no mood to manage the game and attacked with vociferous intent at the start of the second half. A counter down Palestine’s left flank caused panic but Rami Hamadi saved excellently to keep the score at 1-0. The momentum swung Palestine’s way with an own goal in the 50th minute- Bader Abdelaziz comically scored in his own net to trigger an eruption of joy and euphoria.
Palestine thought they had scored the go-ahead goal in the 62nd minute only for Khaled Eissa to deny Mohammed Saleh’s headed effort.
In the 69th minute Oday Dabbagh narrowly headed over the bar it would be the first in a flurry of chances.
Dabbagh stung the palms of the keeper in the 71st minute following a corner kick. Palestine was mercilessly pumping in crosses to the box and at one point the stat was shown on the big screen. Palestine: 65 UAE: 7. It was UAE who had been more effective on the night, though.
Palestine had the ball in the back of the net only for the referee to signal that the corner leading to Ataa Jaber’s goal had gone out of play. Dabbagh shot just wide from an ensuing corner kick as the game entered its final quarter of action.
The Charleroi attacker led all players in total shot attempts. Palestine went in search for a winner in the dying embers of the game but it was not forthcoming as both teams made due with a point.
What I Liked: This was an epic display of resilience. Even more so after Tamer Seyam’s penalty miss. As a veteran of all eight of Palestine’s Asian Cup games- this one is the best performance by far. Make no mistake, Palestine were the better side before the sending off. Credit to Tamer Seyam who missed a penalty but made up for it by “assisting” the own goal.
What I didn’t Like: I am not convinced the 4-4-2 works. Makram Daboub told Football Palestine that the reason for the switch is because the team has more attackers and fewer holding midfielders. While in qualifying, the opposite was true. I think the fact that he switched to 4-3-3 in the second half shows the limitations of the formation.
Fans: In the post game press conference, Manager Makram Daboub said “I cannot thank the fans enough they really gave us a positive push.” The crowd was a beautiful mosaic of Doha society with fans from every color and creed coming together to support Palestine.
What it Means: Palestine control their own destiny. A win against Hong Kong and they will advance to the knockout rounds of an Asian Cup finals for the first time of their history.
What’s Next: Palestine faces Hong Kong on Tuesday January 23rd. Kickoff is set for 17:00 Jerusalem Time
