Palestine at the AFC Asian Cup

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Palestine participated in their maiden AFC Asian Cup, the 2015 tournament, held in Australia. It was the first time Palestine qualified for the Asian Cup and in a major tournament, and this performance has been accredited for the rise of Palestine in the international arena, and the team is widely seen as the symbol of unity for Palestinians amidst the conflict between Hamas and Fatah over control of Palestinian Authority. [1] Their second competition appearance came in 2019. Palestine qualified for the Asian Cup for the third consecutive time in 2023. It was the first ever time that Palestine qualified for the knockout round of the Asian Cup bringing hope to Palestinians amidst the Gaza war. [2]

Contents

Overall record

AFC Asian Cup record Qualification record
YearResultPositionPldWD*LGFGAPldWD*LGFGA
Flag of Hong Kong 1955.svg 1956 to Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg 1996 Did not enterDid not enter
Flag of Lebanon.svg 2000 Did not qualify410338
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg 2004 6024311
Flag of Indonesia.svg Flag of Malaysia.svg Flag of Thailand.svg Flag of Vietnam.svg 2007 511339
Flag of Qatar.svg 2011 202011
Flag of Australia (converted).svg 2015 Group stage16th300311113832187
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg 2019 Group stage17th30210314923498
Flag of Qatar.svg 2023 Round of 1614th411267116142010
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg 2027 Qualified622266
TotalRound of 164/191013672146198198452
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

By match

AFC Asian Cup History
YearRoundScoreResult
2015
Round 1Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 0 – 4Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Loss
Round 1Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 1 – 5Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Loss
Round 1Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 0 – 2Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq Loss
2019
Round 1Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 0 – 0Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg  Syria Draw
Round 1Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 0 – 3Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Loss
Round 1Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 0 – 0Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Draw
2023
Round 1Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 1 – 4Flag of Iran.svg  Iran Loss
Round 1Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 1 – 1Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates Draw
Round 1Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 3 – 0Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong Win
Round of 16Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 1 – 2Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar Loss

Participation

2015 Australia

Group D
PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 330070+79Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq 320131+26
3Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 310254+13
4Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 3003111100
Source: Asian Cup Australia 2015
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
12 January 2015
Japan  Flag of Japan.svg 4–0 Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle
16 January 2015
Palestine  Flag of Palestine.svg 1–5 Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan AAMI Park, Melbourne
20 January 2015
Iraq  Flag of Iraq.svg 2–0 Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine Canberra Stadium, Canberra

Palestine's maiden Asian Cup debut occurred in 2015 when they were grouped with Japan, Iraq and Jordan, and thus it was a significant moment for the Palestinian team. Their opening match was against reigning champions Japan which ended in a 0-4 loss. Palestine suffered another loss in their next match, 1–5 to Jordan, in which Jaka Ihbeisheh scored their first ever goal in the Asian Cup. Palestine ended their campaign by a 0–2 defeat to Iraq, thus ended last with zero point.

2019 UAE

Group B
PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 321030+37Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 320163+36
3Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 30210332
4Flag of the United Arab Republic (1958-1971), Flag of Syria (1980-2024).svg  Syria 30122531
Source: AFC
Syria  Flag of the United Arab Republic (1958-1971), Flag of Syria (1980-2024).svg 0–0 Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine
Report
Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah
Attendance: 8,471
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Palestine  Flag of Palestine.svg 0–3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Report
Rashid Stadium, Dubai
Attendance: 11,915
Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)

Palestine  Flag of Palestine.svg 0–0 Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan
Report

Palestine made their second appearance in the tournament, having been drawn with two Levant rivals, Syria and Jordan, as well as for the second time in a row against defending champions, Australia. Palestine, in this tournament, had successfully achieved two points for the first time, with two draws against Syria and Jordan, both ending 0–0. However, their encounter against Australia ended with a 0–3 defeat, which meant that Palestine obtained two points and finished without a goal scored in the tournament. They were eliminated from the tournament as they did not have enough points to qualify as a third-placed team.

2023 Qatar

Group C
PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 330072+59Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 311154+14
3Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 31115504
4Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong 30031760
Source: AFC
Iran  Flag of Iran.svg 4–1 Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine
Report

Palestine  Flag of Palestine.svg 1–1 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates
Nasser Soccerball shade.svg50' (o.g.) Report Adil Soccerball shade.svg23'
Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Attendance: 41,986
Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)

Hong Kong  Flag of Hong Kong.svg 0–3 Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine
Report
Ranking of third-placed teams
PosGrpTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 E Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 311163+34Advance to knockout stage
2 C Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 31115504
3 B Flag of the United Arab Republic (1958-1971), Flag of Syria (1980-2024).svg  Syria 31111104
4 D Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 31023633
5 F Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 30212312
6 A Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 30210112
Source: AFC
Knockout stage
Round of 16
Qatar  Flag of Qatar.svg 2–1 Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine
Report
Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Attendance: 63,753
Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Squads

References

  1. "Asian Cup 2015: Palestinians flying the flag for a nation of two" . Independent.co.uk . 15 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24.
  2. "'Sport is part of our resistance': Palestine football chief Jibril Rajoub". Al Jazeera . 29 January 2024.