Preview: Palestine vs. Saudi Arabia (2025 FIFA Arab Cup)
Palestine look to register first ever win over Saudi Arabia after coming close to achieving the feat in the 2021 edition of the Arab Cup
What: 2025 FIFA Arab Cup Quarterfinal
When: December 11th, 2025
Kickoff: 19:30 Jerusalem Time
Where: Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar
TV/Streams: Subscribers will receive an email with a link to a live stream on the day of the game. Subscribe below:
Previous Encounters:
03.12.2005|Saudi Arabia 2:0 Palestine | 2005 West Asian Games
28.06.2012|Saudi Arabia 2:2 Palestine | 2012 Arab Cup
28.12.2013|Saudi Arabia 0:0 Palestine | 2014 WAFF Championship
06.11.2014| Saudi Arabia 2:0 Palestine | Friendly
11.06.2015| Saudi Arabia 2:3 Palestine | 2018 FIFA WCQ
05.11.2015| Palestine 0:0 Saudi Arabia | 2018 FIFA WCQ
15.10.2019| Palestine 0:0 Saudi Arabia | 2022 FIFA WCQ
30.03.2021| Saudi Arabia 5:0 Palestine | 2022 FIFA WCQ
04.12.2021| Palestine 1:1 Saudi Arabia | 2021 Arab Cup
Will Cinderella Keep Dancing?
Palestine did what many thought was impossible in navigating a path to the knockout stages. In fact, the majority of so-called expert prognosticators had Al-Fida’i failing to even qualify for the tournament proper.
Fast forward two weeks and Palestine have not only dispatched of Aliou Cisse’s Libya they also saw off hosts Qatar (1-0) and staged an epic comeback to draw Tunisia 2-2.
A tricky encounter versus Syria started off well with Palestine showing an intent to win the match. Nerves got the better of both sides in the second half before a truce was called in the match’s final 20 minutes for a mutually beneficial draw. Palestine won Group A as a result of that 0-0 result.
The reward is a spot on the easier side of the bracket. Palestine will not face Morocco or Algeria until the final should they get that far. Their immediate opponent will be one they know quite well: Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia and Palestine have crossed paths at the last two editions of the Arab Cups and both those encounters ended in draws. Palestine and Saudi Arabia also played out 0-0 draws in 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualification.
Will Palestine have the mental edge and energy to break through another barrier on Thursday?
Surprises at international football tournaments can end one of two ways.
Sometimes the underdog, so overjoyed with accomplishments at the group stage, forgets that the real tournament starts at the knockouts. They might put up a fight but the run usually ends at the hands of a more experienced opponent.
At the last World Cup, Japan won their group by beating Spain and Germany only to lose to Croatia in the Round of 16. It was a similar story for the likes of Australia who also exited at the hands of Argentina after dispatching Tunisia and Denmark.
Then there was Morocco who dug deep and found ways to beat Spain and Portugal en route to the semifinal.
It remains to be seen what type of underdog Palestine is. The type that is content with what has been done or the type that wants to do more.
Saudis Look to Reclaim Glory
Historically speaking, there are few teams on the Asian continent as decorated as Saudi Arabia. Three Asian Cup titles in 1984, 1988, and 1996. World Cup appearances in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022, and 2026. Arab Cup Champions in 1998 and 2002.
Recent history tells a slightly different story- especially at regional and continental level. Saudi Arabia has not won the Gulf Cup in ten editions stretching back to 2003-04. They have not won a knockout stage match at the Asian Cup since their run to the final in 2007. They have also failed to win a knockout stage match at the 2012 and 2021 Arab Cups.
While qualifying to the World Cup will always be the priority for any national team in Asia the lack of trophies weighs heavy on all that are involved in Saudi Football. Herve Renard rescued the World Cup qualification campaign but there still remains several challenges for a team that is between generations.
In 2021, the B-team was sent along with Renard’s assistant to uncover younger talents. While the team succeeded in incorporating Nawaf Boushal, Saud Abdelhamid, Firas Al-Buraikan, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, and Ali Majrashi in to them team (all here now except for the club tied Abdulhamid) they were far from the competitive level required of them.
That humiliation led to an outcry from the fans which led to the decision to use the Arab Cup as the final tuneup for the team ahead of the FIFA World Cup finals.
Saudi Arabia dealt with Oman and Comoros with relative ease but defensive lapses made both victories more complicated than they should have been. Over the first 45 minutes of both games, the Saudis found it difficult to break down low defensive blocks.
The pair of victories meant Herve Renard could afford to rotate his squad against Morocco but the 1-0 loss showcased even more problems. First, the attack was not as potent without Salem Al-Dawsari pulling the strings. Second, Saudi Arabia was no better defensively; conceding against the run of play ten minutes into the match.
Thirdly, and most worryingly, there seems to be no Saudi player able to dispatch a penalty kick successfully. Salem Al-Dawsari missed twice during the World Cup qualification campaign costing his side four valuable points. He missed at the 2022 FIFA World Cup against Poland costing his side the chance to pull level before halftime.
Two penalty kicks were missed during the shootout at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup Round of 16 match against Korea Republic. Upon witnessing the second missed kick, Roberto Mancini collected his blazer and headed to the locker room.
Against Morocco, it was Abdullah Al-Hamdan’s turn to join the not so illustrious list.
Shutdown Salem
If Palestine are going to get to the semifinal they will need to stop Asia’s reigning Player of the Year Salem Al-Dawsari. Their path to the quarterfinals went through two other players who have been individually singled out by the AFC Qatar’s Akram Afif (2023, 2019) and Syria’s Omar Khribin (2017).
The game plan could be very similar to the one that saw Palestine emerge victorious against Qatar. Constrict space and prevent Al-Dawsari from getting time on the ball and things might just unfold in your favour. Should it come down to penalty kicks- Palestine has a huge mental advantage. Further boosting Palestine’s chances is the fact tht the last time these two sides met- a scrimmage match before the Asian Cup- Al-Dawsari was sent off.
If Palestine is not able to clamp down then it will need its forwards to produce and hope it can win a shootout which would favour Herve Renard’s side who are here with a much stronger squad.