Palestine provided South Korea with a significant scare in an engaging 0-0 draw away from home on Thursday, as they strive to qualify for the World Cup for the first time. Making their inaugural appearance in the third stage of Asian qualifying and ranked 96 in FIFA's standings compared to South Korea's 23, Palestine showed no signs of intimidation during much of the open match in Seoul.
Palestine, who play their home matches abroad, typically in the Middle East, due to the conflict in Gaza, faced numerous challenges. The local league has been suspended, and many players are without clubs. Despite these hurdles, they believed they had scored the opening goal in the 22nd minute at the 66,000-capacity Seoul World Cup Stadium, only for the goal to be correctly disallowed for offside.
The hosts, under their fourth coach this year, Hong Myung-bo, appeared vulnerable at the back and struggled to involve their key player and captain, Son Heung-min, in the game. Their best opportunity in a balanced first half fell to Lee Kang-in, but Palestinian goalkeeper Rami Hamadeh managed to block the Paris Saint-Germain player's well-placed close-range shot.
The Palestinians seemed to tire in the second half, with rare counterattacks being their main threat. Lee missed another golden chance when he shot wildly, and was then denied by a 74th-minute freekick that Hamadeh tipped over the bar. Oday Dabbagh nearly scored for the visitors on a breakaway, and Tottenham Hotspur star Son struck the outside of the post in the closing moments. However, Palestine held firm for a crucial point and fully deserved the draw.
Under their Tunisian coach Makram Daboub, the Palestinian team has achieved new milestones this year. At the Asian Cup, they secured their first-ever victory in the competition's history, defeating Hong Kong 3-0. This success propelled them into the knockout rounds of the tournament, another first, before they were eliminated by hosts and eventual champions Qatar with a 2-1 loss.
The squad trained in Malaysia for the South Korea match and will return there to prepare for their next qualifier against Jordan in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, which is nominally a home match. They advanced to this stage of World Cup qualifying for the first time by finishing second behind Australia in their group, winning two, losing two, and drawing two of their six matches.
