November 26th, 2023: This Week in Palestinian Football

A recap the International Break and a look ahead to the Asian Cup Finals

Fans of the Palestine national team have been through a whirlwind the past 50 days. There was fear that our World Cup qualification campaign was over before it started. A lot credit has to be given to the players and the coaching staff for making sure that did not happen. 

We now sit in the aftermath of the first two qualifiers having- based on results- done the bare minimum. Palestine could not lose against Lebanon. They avoided defeat but were left with the feeling that more was possible. 

Australia was seen as a free swing but it was also a litmus test. A 1-0 loss was full of positives. In the words of The Guardian’s Joey Lynch: “A  point would not have flattered Palestine.” 

The same reporter also described Maty Ryan’s denial of Tamer Seyam as “one of the best saves of his career.” 

Palestine was never going to clinch qualification to Round 3 in the first two match days but it certainly could have lost it. 

The side is full of optimism and hope and even if luck has seemingly abandoned them it did pop up in Dhaka on Tuesday. Bangladesh nicked a point from Lebanon courtesy of a Sheikh Morsalin wonder goal. Al-Fida’i now know that a pair of wins against Bangladesh is the key to punching their ticket to the next round. If Lebanon manage a point or less against Australia (which seems likely) it would set up a scenario where Palestine could clinch qualification with just a draw against The Cedars on Match Day 5. 

If you missed either game you can catch up with highlights and a full recap here: 

Makram Daboub deserves an apology from his detractors 

There is no doubt people who will never be convinced even when the evidence is beginning to become irrefutable. Tactically and stylistically you could not ask for more from Palestine in these two qualifiers. Whatever the shortcomings are, they are not the result of the manager. If Mostafa Matar and Maty Ryan don’t make big saves in crucial moments we are talking about a four point haul and sitting joint top of the group. 

Daboub has now contested 18 matches as Palestine manager. Seven of those matches have been either Asian or World Cup qualifiers; his record stands at 5-1-1, 17 goals scored, one conceded. 

For sake of comparison his predecessor, Noureddine Ould Ali, was 1-3-3 in his first seven competitive matches. That netted a group stage exit at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and a disastrous elimination in Round 2 World Cup qualifying after losses to Singapore and Yemen. 

Abdel-Nasser Barakat was 2-3-2, 3-2-2 if you consider that the 1-1 draw vs. Timor Leste was later overturned. Even he didn’t manage the outlay of 17 goals and the defensive solidity of a goal conceded (15 GF, 6 GA).

Is Makram Daboub perfect? No, no manager is infallible. Do I agree with all his personnel decisions? Of course not. 

That said, show me a single manager that would agree to take this job on his modest salary and be able to deliver these results. Not only should his detractors be apologizing, they should be pushing the PFA to extend his contract with better pay.

Changes Forthcoming?