Palestine's squad for Euskadi, Catalunya friendlies revealed

A 26 man squad features 14 players born in the 21st Century as preparations for the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup enter their final phase

Ehab Abu Jazar has called up a squad of 26 players. to face Euskadi and Catalunya next week. The squad is largely thought to remain unchanged for the FIFA Arab Cup playoff match against Libya and the tournament finals should Palestine qualify.

The youth movement ushered inn by Abu Jazar when he took the post 11 months ago continues apace. There was speculation that the good form of several veteran players could earn them a call up. Mohammed Saleh, Mohammed Balah, and Yashir Islame Pinto all put together some of their best football in recent weeks. Abu Jazar is seemingly insisting that the long term plan will not be sacrificed for short term results.

There are only five players over the age of 30 in the squad that includes captain Musab Al-Battat (32 on Wednesday) and his deputies Tamer Seyam (turns 33 on the day of the Libya game) and Rami Hamadi (31). Odai Kharoub (32) and Mahmoud Abu Warda (30) are the only other veteran presence in the side.

There are several notable absences. Musa Farawi, who missed out because of a lack of playing time in 2021, is set to miss another FIFA Arab Cup for the same reason. He is seemingly a victim of the recruitment of Peru’s former U23 captain Emilio Saba and Ameed Sawafta’s standout performance vs. Algeria.

Mohammed Rashid who is one of only 10 players with 50 caps or more is on the outside looking in for the third straight window. He was the author of Palestine’s best moment at the last FIFA Arab Cup when he scored a rocket of a goal against Saudi Arabia in the Education City Stadium.

If there are to be changes to the squad it looks like Wessam Abou Ali and Agustín Manzur would be the likely candidates. Manzur’s season ends on November 28th and Wessam Abou Ali’s Columbus Crew were just eliminated from MLS Cup Playoffs. The participation of the latter is contingent on his recovery from a foot injury.

Alongside Saba, Palestine have called up Muhamed Alghoul for the first time- four years after first trying to call him up for the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup. Youth team standout, Khaled Abu Elhaija has also been called up to the senior team for the first time.

Euskadi revealed their squad over the weekend and the team will feature a glut of La Liga talent with six Athletic Club players and five Real Sociedad players. There is also representation from Girona, Osasuna, and Alaves in the Spanish topflight as well as players plying their trade in the topflight of Portugal, Greece, and Iran.

Catalunya is expected to release their squad on Wednesday, November 12th.

The rest of Palestine’s squad is as follows: