Rapid Reaction: Catalunya 2:1 Palestine (Unofficial Friendly)
Palestine show marked improvement in their second friendly of the international window but succumb to problematic set piece defending
Palestine Starting XI: Rami Hamadi (Abdelhadi Yassin 46’); Emilio Saba (Wajdi Nabhan 63’), Michel Termanini (Muhamed Alghoul 83’), Amid Mahajna (Ali Rabei 63’), Ahmed Taha (Tamer Seyam 63’); Odai Kharoub (Ameed Sawafta 46’), Hamed Hemdan (Badr Moussa 74’), Moustafa Zeidan (Khaled Al-Nabris 63’); Ahmed Al-Qaq (Musab Al-Battat 46’), Zaid Qunbar (Khaled Abu El Heija 74’), Oday Dabbagh (Mahmoud Abuwarda 74’)
Goals: Moustafa Zeidan 31’
FULL MATCH
HIGHLIGHTS
Recap: A crisp autumn evening on Montjuïc, one of the first of the year in Barcelona, welcomed Palestine for their second friendly on the Iberian peninsula. An awkward kickoff time of 18:30 on a Tuesday meant many in attendance missed the first goal.
While it was Palestine who first signaled their intent vis-a-vis Oday Dabbagh. It would be the hosts who would open up the scoring in almost the exact way their Basque counterparts did. A whipped in cross from a free kick was dispatched Real Sociedad’s Sergio Gomez found the head of centreback Ilie Sanchez. The Austin FC defender was one of three players in yellow and red shirts in Hamadi’s six yard box. The captain on the night parried the initial effort but a weird bounce took it past him and into the goal.
In spite of the set back, Palestine looked far sharper in their buildup than they did on Saturday. Moustafa Zeidan was crucial in releasing pressure on the team and getting the ball into dangerous attacking areas. Twenty minutes into the game, Palestine had posted a respectable 41% possession against the nation that pioneered possession based play.
Palestine had a penalty shout as several bodies hit the floor following their first corner of the game twenty minutes into the match. That passage of play came after an excellent save by Hamadi in minute 17 to deny the hosts a second headed goal. Just as it seemed that Palestine were about to find a way back into the match a second goal was conceded. Amid Mahajna turned the ball into his own net attempting to clear a cross from Joel Roca.
To their credit, Palestine did not back down and continued to probe the Catalans and a Palestinian goal would arrive only two minutes after the disastrous own goal.
A lovely corner kick delivery by Ahmed Al-Qaq found the head of Oday Dabbagh whose effort pinged off the post, past the goalkeeper and onto the foot of the Moustafa Zeidan who scored from a yard out. It was the former Sweden international’s first goal with the national team, capping his best performance to date.
That goal boosted the confidence of Al-Fida’i who started pinging the ball horizontally to great effect to beat the Catalan press. In the 41st minute a switching ball from Hamed Hemdan seemed destined for safety after Sergio Gomez headed it towards his goalkeeper. Ahmed Al-Qaq however had other ideas. The North Carolina FC man was making all the right runs on the night and his industriousness nearly generated a goal.
With the ball at his feet at a tight angle he decided to shoot but ended up finding the side netting. In hindsight, he probably could have taken an extra touch which would have allowed for an easier finish or for enough time to find Zaid Qunbar.
Palestine were once again close before the end of the half with the energetic Hamed Hemdan winning the ball and launching a counter. An earlier pass in the sequence either to Moustafa Zeidan or into space for Oday Dabbagh could have generated a dangerous shot. Instead he continued to dribble and ran out of real estate.
Two minutes into the second half, a ball sent into the channel by substitute Ameed Sawfta found the feet of Oday Dabbagh who drove into the box and created space to shoot. Unfortunately, for the strongest section of Palestine support just behind him his effort hit the side netting.
A charging run from Hamed Hemdan in the 58th minute resulted in a cross-cum-shot. As the clock struck the hour mark both sides went to the bench for another triple substitution. There would be a complete change of the team before night’s end as the second half petered out with neither side generating a shot on goal.
The Ball: A common refrain from the players in the aftermath of this match was just how bad the match ball was. “It’s heavy and does not bounce or move as a normal ball would” goalkeeper Rami Hamadi told Football Palestine. “The ball is so hard that when you kick it you feel like you might injure your ankle…. You know those balls they make for kids that are stuffed with fabric on the inside? That’s what it was like.” commented national team top scorer Oday Dabbagh.
A quick image search on Google backs up the Zamalek attacker’s comments. The ball, produced by Futcat, features a moon and a fighter jet and other design effects that resemble something out of a comic book. More importantly, it’s hexagonal stitching is something elite manufacturers abandoned at their turn of the century.
What I Liked: Palestine were sharper and both friendlies will serve as great preparation for a crunch match against Libya next week. In spite of the in-game setbacks Palestine climbed back into the game and were unlucky not to find an equalizer before halftime.
Several new faces in the team now have minutes under their belts in difficult circumstances which should bode well for the team’s future.
What I didn’t Like: The individual mistakes need to be cleaned up. While it is true that the ball did not help matters for either goal; Palestine cannot afford to make the same mistakes against Libya next week. Other than that, Palestine acquitted themselves very well against a team whose strings were being pulled by FC Barcelona’s Marc Bernal and seven other La Liga players.
Availability: Ehab Abu Jazar will be involved in intense negotiations with Zamalek, Rosenborg, and few other clubs to secure the services of his best players for the Libya match. As it is outside the FIFA window teams are within their rights to withhold their players’ participation.
What’s Next: Palestine take on Libya for a spot in Group A of the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup. The match is set for Tuesday, November 25th at the Al-Gharafa Stadium and a 18:00 Jerusalem time kickoff.