The footballers of war-ravaged Palestine remain hopeful of qualifying for their maiden FIFA World Cup next year. On Wednesday, they face one of the biggest hurdles in their long road to Canada, Mexico, and the USA, the joint hosts for the next edition.
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Palestine are set to play Oman in a crucial Group B encounter in the AFC third round in Amman, with a win helping them reach the fourth round of qualification, the furthest they have ever gone in the World Cup race. After nine matches in the third round, Oman sit in the decisive fourth place, with a point more than Palestine.
Oman had edged Palestine 1-0 when they met in Muscat in mid-November. This time, Palestine need victory to advance, a draw or defeat will end their World Cup dream. “We hope that tomorrow’s match will be historic and worthy of the name of the Palestinian people,” Palestine head coach Ihab Abu Jazar said on the eve of the match.
Palestine are the team in form, having won their last two matches (2-1 vs Iraq, 2-0 vs Kuwait). “We prepared well, especially after winning against the Kuwaiti team in the last match… We held on to our chances of qualifying for the playoffs, and we have players capable of achieving success,” Abu Jazar said.
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Should they win and advance, they will join five other third—and fourth-placed qualifiers in the fourth round. A round-robin tournament will follow, with two group winners reaching the World Cup and two second-placed teams going into a fifth round of playoffs.
With the upcoming edition of the World Cup expanded to 48 teams, the Asian Football Confederation has eight slots, and Palestine will be hoping they can earn a ticket. But first, they need to beat Oman in Amman and then live to fight another day.
The State of Palestine have been devastated by the war between Israel and Hamas. In January this year, the Palestinian Football Association said the war has claimed the lives of more than 380 Palestinian footballers. The war that began in October 2023 has destroyed Gaza, leaving more than 50,000 dead.
