A 97th-minute penalty ends Palestine’s FIFA World Cup dream

As if fate couldn't be any more cruel, the dream of a squad of footballers to offer a speck of relief to their still-alive brethren in Gaza was snuffed out in the last minute of Palestine's crucial AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Issam Al Sabhi scored a controversial penalty awarded to Oman in the seventh minute of stoppage time (90+7) to finish the game 1-1 at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman.

Palestine needed to win the match to reach the fourth round of the qualifiers. Oman weren’t doing any favours to Palestine because their hopes of qualifying too depended on the match.

Palestine took the lead in the 49th minute through Oday Kharoub who headed home Adam Kaied’s corner for his first international goal. 

Oman pressed for an equaliser because a draw was all they wished for, to finish above Palestine, in the fourth place in Group B. But even that seemed a distant dream when, in the 73rd minute, Harib Al Saadi went sliding in to win a ball but collected a second booking to be sent off. 

Everything seemed to be working perfectly for Ihab Abu Jazar's fearless Palestinians who had overcome, or suppressed, immense personal and collective trauma to come furthest yet on their road to playing a maiden FIFA World Cup. 

In the final 10 minutes, Wessam Abou Ali could have sealed the game when he had two chances. His first shot was saved by Al Rusheidi in Oman's goal and the second effort went narrowly wide.

But there were no complaints about the chances they missed because Palestine had got their goal, which needed defending with dear life. Until Ahmed Taha, in his desperation to keep a clean sheet, placed an arm in the back of an Omani attacker in the box and let him claim the fateful penalty. 

Next year's World Cup to be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the USA, has been expanded to 48 teams, with the Asian Football Confederation getting a record eight slots. Unfortunately for Palestine, their road to the World Cup has come to an end.

The State of Palestine has been devastated by the war between Israel and Hamas. In January this year, the Palestinian Football Association said the war has claimed the lives of more than 380 Palestinian footballers. The war that began in October 2023 has destroyed Gaza, leaving more than 50,000 dead.