Palestine to play Saudi Arabia in 2027 AFC Asian Cup opening match
Al-Fida'i will take on the hosts of the 19th edition of the continental showpiece in January
The draw for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup was conducted on Saturday evening in the historic At-Turaif district in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
The 2027 edition will represent Palestine’s fourth participation at the finals having punched their ticket to every edition since Australia 2015.
Palestine’s group will include some familiar foes. The team’s last competitive match was a FIFA Arab Cup quarterfinal against Saudi Arabia back in December 2025. The two teams will lock horns again, this time in the opening match that will kick off the tournament at the King Fahd Sports City Stadium on January 7th, 2027.
Palestine will travel to Al-Kobar five days later to face Kuwait before rounding up group play against Oman on January 17th at Al-Awwal Park.
In the post-draw reaction Oman manager Tarik Sekitoui described Group A as “being amongst the hardest and also the most competitive due to the presence of four Arab teams.”
Palestine manager Ehab Abu Jazar expressed his happiness at being drawn to play the opening match and stated plainly that “each team in the group has an equal chance.”
It was a theme reiterated by Kuwait boss Helio Sousa.
Gerogios Donis, who recently took the helm of Saudi Arabia, laid down the gauntlet for his team stating his desire to lift the trophy.
“Generally, the draw was very interesting. We respect all opponents and we have to be ready for the tournament. We have some priorities now which is to build the team with my philosophy. It will be normal to have a lot of focus on the team because we are the hosts but we have the experience to manage that. It’s nice to have Palestine as the first opponent, we know their troubles but we will be focused to start well.”
The rest of the groups are as follows:
