The Palestine national football team ( ar, منتخب فلسطين لكرة القدم), controlled by the
Palestinian Football Association
The Palestinian Football Association ( ar, الاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة القدم) is the governing body for football in Palestine, and for the men's Palestine national football team and the Palestine women's national football te ...
, represents
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
in
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
. The squad is governed by the
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...
(AFC) continentally, and
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
worldwide.
A football federation in
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
was founded in 1928. While a team for the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
residents of Palestine played its first match in 1953, the national team was recognized by FIFA in 1998, after the creation of the
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine, . The same year, Palestine played their first FIFA-recognized match in a 3–1 defeat to
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
in a
friendly. The team has won the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, thanks to a 1–0 win over the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
in the final. Their win in the competition qualified them to the
2015 AFC Asian Cup
The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 2015. The tournament was ...
, marking their first appearance in the competition. Palestine also qualified to the following edition of the Asian Cup in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, their first through regular qualification. They have yet to qualify for the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
.
The Palestinian team is known by various nicknames: "Lions of
Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
" (), "the
Fedayeen
Fedayeen ( ar, فِدائيّين ''fidāʼīyīn'' "self-sacrificers") is an Arabic term used to refer to various military groups willing to sacrifice themselves for a larger campaign.
Etymology
The term ''fedayi'' is derived from Arabic: '' ...
" () and "the Knights" (). Their main colours are red and white. The team reached an all-time high position of 73rd in the
FIFA ranking
The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, led by Brazil . The teams of the men's member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the ...
in February 2018 after going on a 12-match unbeaten streak, from 29 March 2016 to 22 March 2018. Palestine's main venue is the
Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium
Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium is an association football stadium on Dahiat al'Barid Street in Al-Ram. It is one of the home stadiums of the Palestine national football team. It is named after Faisal Husseini, a Palestinian politician ...
in
Al-Ram
Al-Ram ( ar, الرّام), also transcribed as Al-Ramm, El-Ram, Er-Ram, and A-Ram, is a Palestinian town which lies northeast of Jerusalem, just outside the city's municipal border. The village is part of the built-up urban area of Jerusalem, the ...
; however, they have been forced to play in neutral stadiums for home matches in numerous occasions due to political issues.
History
1928–1998: The beginning
Maccabi leader
Yosef Yekutieli
Yosef Yekutieli (also Joseph Yekutieli; he, יוסף יקותיאלי; April 12, 1897 – September 25, 1982) was a prominent member of the international Jewish sports organisation Maccabi World Union, Maccabi. He was the founder of the Ma ...
attempted for Maccabi Association's membership in the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) as early as 1925. The application was turned down, as only associations representing states could be admitted as members. Yekutieli thus decided to create the
Palestine Football Association
The Palestinian Football Association ( ar, الاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة القدم) is the governing body for football in Palestine, and for the men's Palestine national football team and the Palestine women's national football ...
(PFA). Maccabi officials were obliged to include Arab teams. The association's first session was held in the summer of 1928. Notwithstanding the fourteen Jewish representatives that partook, one Arab delegate participated – an individual representing Arab Sports Club of Jerusalem. FIFA accepted the PFA on 17 May 1929 and during the first years of the PFA, Arab clubs partook in PFA sanctioned-matches. During this time, 11 of the 69 PFA teams were Arab, but after the mid-1930s, until its transformation into the
IFA
IFA or Ifa may refer to:
Organisations
Economics
* Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK
* Index Fund Advisors
* Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK
* Institute of Ac ...
, its membership became largely Jewish with only minor Arab membership.
The Arab Palestinian Sports Federation (APSF) was born in April 1931 due to the belief that the PFA did not represent Arab interests. A Palestinian national team played its first match against a squad from the
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...
in the same year according to ''
Falastin
''Falastin'' ( ar, فلسطين), meaning Palestine in Arabic, was an Arabic-language Palestinian newspaper. Founded in 1911 in Jaffa, ''Falastin'' began as a weekly publication, evolving into one of the most influential dailies in Ottoman and ...
''. Due to the
1936 revolt, the activities of the APSF were hampered and the federation completely disappeared toward the end of the 1930s.
While the PFA was established in 1928, the first international match played by Palestine was an 8–1 defeat away to Egypt in 1953. The last game saw Palestine lose to Libya 5–2, to finish bottom of the group.
At the
1965 Pan Arab Games, Palestine were grouped with
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
and the
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
. They finished second, thus advancing to the semi-finals for the first time. Palestine faced
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
and were beaten 2–1. In the third place play-off, Palestine met
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
, where they lost 4–2. Palestine participated in the
1966 Arab Cup held in Iraq; they were drawn in Group B alongside Syria, Libya and North Yemen. Starting with a 0–0 draw to Libya, Palestine beat North Yemen 7–0 before losing 3–1 to Syria. They ended the tournament with four points and failed to qualify to the knock-out stages of the competition.
Palestine were drawn alongside Libya, North Yemen and Syria in the
1966 Arab Cup. With one win, a draw and a loss, Palestine was eliminated in the group stage.
The national team participated in the
1976 Pan Arab Games, held in Damascus. Palestine started their campaign with two defeats to Morocco (3–0) and Saudi Arabia (3–1), before defeating Jordan (2–1). They lost to hosts Syria (2–0) in their fourth game of the tournament, drew against South Yemen (0–0), and finished with a win against Mauritania (1–0) to end the tournament in 6th place. Palestine participated in the
1992 Arab Cup held in Syria; they were drawn in Group B alongside the hosts and Saudi Arabia but were eliminated from the group stage after one draw and one loss.
1998–2014: International recognition
In May 1995, the PFA was granted the status of provisional member in FIFA. Palestine eventually gained FIFA membership on 8 June 1998 after numerous attempts since 1946.
Under Ricardo Carugati, Palestine played their first official matches in July 1998 against
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
at the
1998 Arab Cup qualification.
In the next year, Palestine took part in the
1999 Pan Arab Games held in Jordan. There, they won games against
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
and the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
, drew with Libya and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, while only losing to hosts
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
. Palestine finished in the third-place which is their best result to date. In their first ever
Asian Cup qualification, Palestine were drawn into a five-team group with Jordan, Kazakhstan,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, and Qatar. A single victory 2–0 against Pakistan proved to be not enough to qualify as they lost 1–0 to Qatar, 5–1 to Jordan before finishing the campaign with a 2–0 defeat to Kazakhstan.
Managed by Mustafa Yacoub, Palestine drew into Group C of the
2002 World Cup qualification along with
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and Qatar. The team finished in a good second place scoring 8 goals thanks to Emad Ayoub who netted four times. In the
2002 Arab Cup, Palestine crashed out of the group stage, but managed to draw against group winners Jordan, Kuwait and Sudan, whose only losses were against eventual semifinalist
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
. Under Nicola Hadwa Shahwan, the team were drawn alongside Kuwait, Qatar and Singapore. Palestine finished last with two points.
After a failed Asian Cup qualifying campaign, the PFA hired Austrian coach
Alfred Riedl to lead the team during the
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South Americ ...
. Palestine was included in a group with Uzbekistan, Iraq and Chinese Taipei. They won both games against Chinese Taipei, drew 2–2 with Iraq, however this was insufficient for Palestine to advance beyond the second round as they lost both fixtures versus Uzbekistan 3–0 apart from a 3–0 defeat at the hands of Iraq. Palestine took part in the
inaugural AFC Challenge Cup held in Bangladesh. They were drawn alongside the host team,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
and
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
. In the group stage, Palestine registered their biggest win ever, a 11–0 victory over Guam. Palestine advanced from
Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...
and met
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
in the quarter-finals. After playing a goal-lees first half, they were beaten with a last-gasp goal. In the summer of 2006, Palestine achieved its highest FIFA ranking at 115, placing them 16th in the Asian continent.
Managed by
Azmi Nassar
Azmi Nassar ( ar, عزمي نصار, he, עזמי נסאר; 3 October 1957 – 26 March 2007) was a Palestinian football manager and served as manager of the Palestinian national football team.
Professional career Palestinian National Team
In o ...
, Palestine were drawn with
China national football team
The China national football team (, recognised as China PR by FIFA) represents the People's Republic of China in international association football and is governed by the Chinese Football Association.
China won the EAFF East Asian Cup in 2005 ...
, Iraq and Singapore during the
2007 Asian Cup qualification. Palestine finished in the bottom with 4 points. They achieved their only win against Singapore 1–0.
In 2008, with the help of FIFA's goal program, the PFA built the
Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium
Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium is an association football stadium on Dahiat al'Barid Street in Al-Ram. It is one of the home stadiums of the Palestine national football team. It is named after Faisal Husseini, a Palestinian politician ...
, and on 26 October 2008. Palestine held a match at their home for the first time since they became member of FIFA, a 1–1 draw with Jordan ahead of a crowd of over 7,000. Palestine entered the
first round
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
of
2010 World Cup qualification
Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oce ...
and were eliminated after only one match that finished 4–0 for Singapore. The second leg was not played as scheduled due to the Palestinian team being barred from travelling. However the FIFA refused to reschedule the match.
The
2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualifying draw put Palestine in Group C, with Afghanistan (later withdrew), Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. They started the run with a goalless draw against hosts Nepal. The final game finished in a 1–1 draw with Kyrgyzstan to miss the chance of qualification on goal difference.
Palestine drew into group C with Jordan, Libya and Sudan for the
2011 Pan Arab Games
The 2011 Pan Arab Games also known as the 12th Pan Arab Games took place in Doha, Qatar from 6 to 23 December 2011. This was the first time that the country had hosted the multi-sport event. Khalifa International Stadium was the main venue for th ...
. They lost the opening match 4–1 to Jordan in
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
. The team improved in the second match against Libya which finished 1–1. The last game against Sudan was won by Palestine 2–0 to clinch the second-place berth in the tournament. At the semi-finals they lost 3–1 to Bahrain. The team completed their campaign with a 3–0 loss to Kuwait after extra time.
During the
2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Palestine were drawn with
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
in the
first round
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
. The first leg was won 2–0, while the second leg ended in a draw 1–1. On 3 July 2011, the first World Cup qualifying match played at home, Palestine took the lead with a long-range shot by
Houssam Wadi
Houssam Wadi ( ar, حسام وادي; born August 8, 1986, in Gaza, Palestine) is a Palestinian professional football (soccer) player currently playing for Gazan club Ittihad Shajeiyah after voiding his contract with Al-Am'ary of the West Bank ...
. Palestine reached the
second round
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds e ...
to face
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. The first match was lost 1–0 in
Buriram
Buriram (, , , 'city of happiness') is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Thailand, capital of Buriram Province, about northeast of Bangkok. The town occupies ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of Mueang Buriram District. In 2012 it had a population of 27,862 ...
, while in the second match, Palestine produced a better performance with
Murad Alyan taking the lead early, before Thailand responded before half-time. The second half was similar and two teams waited until the dying minutes before scoring back-to-back goals. This resulted in Palestine's elimination.
The PFA chose not to renew
Moussa Bezaz's contract after exiting the second round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Jamal Mahmoud, a former player and manager of
Al-Wehdat, was announced as the national team manager in November 2011, after two disastrous friendly matches, without a permanent manager saw defeats against
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and Iran 4–1 and 7–0, respectively. Palestine made history by playing and defeating their first
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
rival
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
, on 2–0. The match was later registered as unofficial for unknown reasons.
Mahmoud later led the team in the
2012 AFC Challenge Cup
The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament, an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging countries" in the defunct Vision Asia progra ...
. In the run-up, Palestine finished group play at the
2012 AFC Challenge Cup
The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament, an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging countries" in the defunct Vision Asia progra ...
without conceding a goal after 2–0 wins over Nepal and
Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
alongside a 0–0 draw against
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
on the way to a semifinal exit at the hands of eventual champions North Korea. The third place play-off ended in a 4–3 loss against the Philippines. During the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification, Palestine drew into Group D with Bangladesh, Nepal and the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
. They started with a hard win against Bangladesh 1–0. The next game ended in a 9–0 rout over the Northern Mariana Islands. The qualifiers finished in a goalless draw against Nepal to earn a second straight AFC Challenge Cup berth.
2014–present: Recent success
The team ended up winning the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup by drawing only one of the 5 matches without conceding a goal. In the opening match, Palestine won against Kyrgyzstan with a last-gasp goal by
Abdelhamid Abuhabib. In the next group game, they played against Myanmar and won 2–0. The ended the first round with a 0–0 draw against hosts Maldives. Palestine advanced as group winners to the semi-finals where they faced Afghanistan. The match ended in favor of the Palestinians with a 2–0 win. At the final, Palestine clinched the win over the Philippines with a lone goal scored by
Ashraf Nu'man
Ashraf Nu'man Al-Fawaghra ( ar, أشرف نعمان الفواغرة; born 29 July 1986) is a Palestinian footballer who plays for Shabab Al-Khalil of the West Bank Premier League and the Palestine national team as a forward or attacking midfi ...
through a free-kick. The victory gave the Palestine team their first major trophy and guaranteed their participation in the next year's
AFC Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...
. Following its 2014 AFC Challenge Cup win and qualification for the Asian Cup,
Jamal Mahmoud resigned as national team manager citing differences with the Palestine Football Association.
Palestine was placed in
Group D along with
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Jordan and Iraq in the
2015 AFC Asian Cup
The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 2015. The tournament was ...
having lost all three group matches. They started their campaign with a 0–4 defeat by Japan. In the second game Palestine were beaten 1–5, with the opposing team ending the first half with a 3 goals lead. In the second half, Palestine scored their first ever Asian Cup goal by
Jaka Ihbeisheh
Jaka Ihbeisheh ( ar, ياكا حبيشة; born 29 August 1986) is a retired footballer. Born in Slovenia, he represented Palestine internationally.
International career
In 2014, Ihbeisheh made his debut for the Palestinian national team. He wa ...
six minutes before the end. However, at this point they were eliminated. The participation ended with a 0–2 defeat to Iraq. After a disastrous performance in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, the PFA appointed Olympic team manager
Abdel Nasser Barakat
Abdel Nasser Barakat (born 15 May 1974) is a Palestinian football manager, who was an attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up ...
as national team manager, who then decided not to pick several veteran players as the team moved to overhaul.
Palestine registered two 6–0 wins over Malaysia during
2018 World Cup qualifying. Those results, combined with a 0–0 draw at home to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, placed Palestine close to qualification for the third round of Asian World Cup qualifiers. They were eliminated from the qualification following a 2–0 defeat to the UAE on 24 March 2016. They won their final FIFA World Cup qualification match at home 7–0 against
Timor-Leste
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
, five days later.
Although eliminated from the World Cup, Palestine advanced to the third round of the
2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification was the qualification process organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to determine the participating teams for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, the 17th edition of the international men's football champions ...
. Drawn with Oman, the Maldives and Bhutan, Palestine came second in the group with five wins and one defeat, and qualified to the
2019 AFC Asian Cup
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...
for the first time through regular qualification. Between February and March 2018, Palestine reached their best ever FIFA ranking of 73rd, thanks to an unprecedented 12-match unbeaten streak (between 29 March 2016 and 22 March 2018), winning eight and drawing four. In February 2018, Palestine achieved their best-ever FIFA ranking (73rd).
On 19 December 2017,
Julio César Baldivieso
Julio César Baldivieso Rico (born 2 December 1971) is a Bolivian football coach and former player who played as an attacking midfielder.
Baldivieso was a midfielder who played for the Bolivia national team at the 1994 World Cup and several Co ...
was hired after Abdel Nasser Barakat was released. The hiring was widely criticized by Palestinian fans. On 22 April 2018, the PFA appointed
Noureddine Ould Ali
Noureddine Ould Ali ( ar, نور الدين ولد علي; born 23 June 1972) is an Algerian football coach who was most recently the manager of the Palestine national football team.
Early life
Ould Ali was born in Bab El Oued, a suburb of the c ...
as head coach to lead the team in the next period. Palestine was crowned champion of the
2018 Bangabandhu Cup
The 2018 Bangabandhu Gold Cup or simply 2018 Bangabandhu Cup was an international association football tournament organized by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) as a tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This wa ...
as an invited country to the tournament. In the road to the final, they topped their group with 6 points, defeating
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
2–0 before winning against Nepal 1–0 with a
Khaled Salem header. In the semi-final Palestine knocked out Bangladesh 2–0 with the goals coming in each half. At the final, Palestine played Tajikistan for the second time. The match ended 0–0 in regular time, to be decided in a penalty shoot-out which Palestine won 4–3.
![SYR-PLE 20190106 Asian Cup 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/SYR-PLE_20190106_Asian_Cup_3.jpg)
Drawn with Australia, Syria and Jordan, Palestine started their 2019 AFC Asian Cup campaign on 6 January 2019 with a 0–0 draw to Syria. Five days later, Palestine faced title-holders Australia; a header by
Jamie Maclaren
Jamie Maclaren (born 29 July 1993) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for A-League club Melbourne City. He has also previously played for Darmstadt 98, Perth Glory, Brisbane Roar and Hibernian. Maclaren initi ...
and a goal by
Awer Mabil
Awer Bul Mabil (born 15 September 1995) is a professional soccer player who plays as a winger for La Liga club Cádiz. Born in Kenya, he represents the Australia national team at international level.
Born a South Sudanese refugee in Kenya, ...
sent Palestine trailing 2–0 at half-time. Australia sealed the win with a 90th-minute header from
Apostolos Giannou
Apostolos Giannou ( el, Απόστολος Γιάννου; born 25 January 1990) is a Greek-Australian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He represented various Greek and Australian youth national teams, including one friendly with ...
. On 15 January 2019, Palestine headed into their last group-stage match needing all three points against Jordan, and hoping for a Syria win against Australia. In the 17th minute, Palestine came close to scoring when
Amer Shafi
Amer may refer to:
Places
* Amer (river), a river in the Dutch province of North Brabant
* Amer, Girona, a municipality in the province of Girona in Catalonia, Spain
* Amber, India (also known as Amer, India), former city of Rajasthan state
** ...
produced a fingertip save to keep out
Abdelatif Bahdari. In the second half,
Oday Dabbagh
Oday Ibrahim Mohammad Dabbagh ( ar, عدي إبراهيم محمد الدباغ; born 3 December 1998) is a Palestinian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Belgian Pro League club Charleroi and the Palestine national team.
Dab ...
failed to score from two headers, and the match ended in a 0–0 draw.
Between July and August 2019, Palestine participated in the
2019 WAFF Championship; they were drawn with hosts
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, Lebanon, and
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
. Palestine ended the tournament with two wins, one draw and one defeat, and finished in second place in their group: however, this wasn't enough to reach the final.
Palestine were drawn with Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Uzbekistan, Yemen at the
2022 World Cup qualification. They kicked-off with a historic win over Uzbekistan 2–0 in
Al-Ram
Al-Ram ( ar, الرّام), also transcribed as Al-Ramm, El-Ram, Er-Ram, and A-Ram, is a Palestinian town which lies northeast of Jerusalem, just outside the city's municipal border. The village is part of the built-up urban area of Jerusalem, the ...
. Five days later, Palestine were defeated 2–1 to Singapore. On 15 October 2019, Palestine drew 0–0 with Saudi Arabia, during which its decades-long boycott of play in the West Bank came to an end in protest against Israel's control over Palestinian territories. Thereafter, the team lost again to Yemen 1–0. This was later followed with another away loss to Uzbekistan, thus placing Palestine in the bottom and reducing the country's opportunity to reach the final round.
Manager Noureddine Ould Ali lost his job after 2022 World Cup qualification resumed in 2021 following a 5–0 loss to Saudi Arabia. He was replaced by Makram Dabboub who won his first World Cup qualifiers against Singapore and Yemen, 4–0 and 3–0, respectively.
In June 2022, Palestine qualified for their third straight
AFC Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...
finals, winning all three games against Mongolia, Yemen and Philippines without conceding a goal.
Problems relating to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The
Palestinian Football Association
The Palestinian Football Association ( ar, الاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة القدم) is the governing body for football in Palestine, and for the men's Palestine national football team and the Palestine women's national football te ...
faces problems in training and playing due to the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...
.
Because of travel restrictions placed by
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
upon people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the difficulty in obtaining an exit visa from Israel, many players in the team are drawn from the
Palestinian diaspora
The Palestinian diaspora ( ar, الشتات الفلسطيني, ''al-shatat al-filastini''), part of the wider Arab diaspora, are Palestinian people living outside the region of Palestine.
History
Palestinian individuals have a long history of ...
, from as far away as
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Recently, Israel's refusal to issue exit visas has resulted in players, or in some case the entire team, being unable to represent the territories. In November 2006 (the last match of
2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification group stage is scheduled), all players based inside the West Bank and Gaza Strip were denied exit visas. The
AFC cancelled the match since both teams had been eliminated from the competition by virtue of their previous results against China and Iraq. A film, ''Goal Dreams'', was made about the team attempting to overcome obstacles in the qualification for the 2006 World Cup, who were also featured on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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documentary series ''Frontline Football''.
In October 2007, the second leg of a crucial
was not played due to Palestine's inability to obtain exit visas. The
decided not to reschedule the match despite protests from the PFA, and Singapore was awarded a 3–0 win in a walkover match. In May 2008, the team was not allowed to travel to the
. After a 2011 World Cup qualifier against Thailand, two starters, Mohammed Samara and Majed Abusidu, were refused entry to the West Bank and therefore could not travel back with the team from Thailand.
Striker
was prevented from travelling and had his house destroyed. Tariq al Quto was killed by the
, he was released in July 2012. In 2012, Olympic Team goalkeeper Omar Abu Ruways was arrested by Israel for being a member of a terrorist cell.
was arrested in April after returning with his team from training in Qatar. The Shin Bet accused Maraaba of exploiting his status as a Palestinian football player to act as a courier for Hamas.
Shin Bet released a statement in which it was contended that Maraaba admitted that, before he left for Qatar, he met a senior Hamas operative in Kalkilya, asked him to meet an operative from Hamas' military wing in Qatar and received money, a cellphone and written messages which he brought back to Hamas operatives in Kalkilya.
s.
In addition, Israeli forces have been accused of intentionally shooting Palestinian footballers in the knees and feet, including on one occasion ten bullets in the feet of 19 year old footballer Jawhar Nasser Jawhar.
The team's former goalkeeper Abu Rwayyis was arrested in connection with an attack on IDF soldiers in April 2012.
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
(1999–2000)
* Mansour Hamid El Bouri (2000)
* Mustafa Abdel-Ghali Yacoub (2001)
*
(2005–2007)
* Nelson Dekmak (2007)
* Ezzat Hamza (2008–2009)
* Jamal Daraghmeh (2009)
*
on June 8, 11, and 14 respectively.
''Caps and goals as of 14 June 2022, after the match against
The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past 12 months, but are not part of the current squad.
, the complete official match record of the Palestine national team comprises
: 66 wins, 57 draws and 106 losses.
During these matches, the team scored 291 times and conceded 357 goals. Palestine's highest winning margin is 11 goals, which has been achieved against
in 2006 (11–0). Their longest winning streak is 7 wins, and their unbeaten record is 12 consecutive official matches.