Palestine defeats Kuwait, keeps World Cup hopes alive
When Palestine was languishing at the bottom of their World Cup qualification group the national team’s social media team came up with a rallying cry.
Quedan tres finales. [Three finals remain]
The message was part of the marketing of a Spanish language radio broadcast for the Palestinian diaspora in Chile. The national team seemed headed to the gallows after failing to pick up a win in their first three games.
There was plenty of fight- shown in a pair of draws against World Cup perennials South Korea in particular- but very little in terms of results.
A dramatic, last gasp win against Iraq gave Palestine hope and focus in the June window shifted to Kuwait City. The second of three finals.
“Finals are not meant to be played, they are meant to be won,” serial winner and Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano was fond of saying.
Palestine seems to have taken the advice. Al-Fida’i’s win will not go down as a classic by any stretch of the imagination but it will most certainly be counted amongst the most important victories the national team has recorded thus far.
The heat, humidity, and state of the pitch took their toll on the national team players. Palestine were forced into their first substitution just eight minutes into the game following an ankle injury to their midfield maestro Ataa Jaber.
In spite of the setback, Palestine pushed on and were the better side in the game’s opening stanza.
A first half goal by Tamer Seyam gave Palestine breathing room and after rolling with the punches a Wessam Abou Ali penalty in the 88th minute gave Al-Fida’i a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.
Fans of the home team had given up all hope of qualification even though it was a mathematical possibility. The pessimism was on full display when the attendance on the night revealed a whopping 54,000 seats to be empty.
If fans of Al-Azraq had given up the team itself was showing no sign of quitting. Mohammed Daham had been one of the few sources of danger for Kuwait. In the 78th minute, he broke Palestine’s offsides trap and was through on goal but was thwarted expertly by goalkeeper Rami Hamadi.
The goalkeeper was called into action again in the third minute of an absurd 13 minutes of injury time. A double save off a Kuwaiti corner kick earned the shot stopper his 28th clean sheet in a Palestine shirt.
Nothing has been easy for the national team who commenced their World Cup journey. Coaches, players, and comrades have been martyred in Gaza over the past twenty months. What was once a bustling football scene in the country has come grinding to a halt- with no sign that it will ever return.
“Alhamdulilah in spite of the open wound and the deep pain we have been facing we managed to create joy for people who have suffered so much.” Palestine manager Ehab Abu Jazar stated in the post match press conference.
Man of the Match Wessam Abou Ali took to the podium to swiftly dismiss rumors that he would depart the national team early in order to prepare for the Club World Cup with Al-Ahly.
“I am not thinking about the Club World Cup now. I am here to represent a cause and make my people happy. Of course I am going to play the Oman match- I would be a traitor if I did not.”
Attention now turns to the last match in Round Three. Palestine host Oman in Jordan to determine whose World Cup dream continues.
Neither team can qualify for the finals next summer directly but an expanded field of 48 finalists means Asia will send at least another two teams, for a total of eight, to the World Cup in North America.
Oman came into the day with dreams of direct qualification- hoping to leapfrog Jordan and Iraq into second place. A dour first half came to an end with Jordan being awarded a penalty. Ali Olwan duly converted and then killed the game with two more for his first international hat trick. That result gave Palestine control of their own destiny before kickoff in Kuwait City.
Palestine’s win against Kuwait has narrowed the gap between themselves and Oman to a single point.
A third- and final- final awaits Palestine. Win and two matches in October will be all that separate Al-Fida’i from an historic World Cup appearance.
