Amid Israel’s war on Gaza, Palestine dares to dream of FIFA World Cup 2026

The Seoul World Cup Stadium can be one of the most partisan and intimidating football arenas in Asia. The unwavering devotion – bordering on obsession – of the South Korean fans can make the biggest teams feel uncomfortable in this cauldron.

On Thursday, though, the home fans proudly displayed flags, scarves and banners in support of South Korea’s opponents – Palestine.

Amid a sea of red shirts, reflecting the colour of the home team’s kit, large pockets of the 66,000-capacity stadium unfurled flags and displayed supportive messages for the visiting team.

The poignant atmosphere set the scene for Palestine’s first ever match in the third round of qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

A South Korean fan holds a banner that reads “South Korea and Palestine,  let’s go to the World Cup together” during their match at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on September 5, 2024 [Kim Soo-hyeon/Reuters]

It was a night to remember on the pitch too as coach Makram Daboub’s side walked away with a deserved and invaluable point after a 0-0 draw against the giants of Asian football, thanks to Rami Hamadeh’s imperious goalkeeping and South Korea’s errant finishing.

While the pre-match favourite Taegeuk Warriors were denied a home win, Palestine were also left to rue Jo Hyeon-woo’s fine save in stoppage time to deny Wessam Abou Ali a historic winner.

The regrets, if any, were washed away by the jubilant scenes at full-time.

Wide smiles and warm embraces capped off a historic night for the players and backroom staff, who have taken on the mantle of representing Palestine on the biggest stages as war rages on back home in Gaza.

The Lions of Canaan stepped on the field with a firm belief in their ability to realise the dream of reaching football’s global showpiece.

“I’m always dreaming,” Palestinian midfielder Mohammed Rashid told Al Jazeera in the lead-up to the qualifiers.

“They [the Israeli forces] try to kill our dreams, but we will not let them stand in our way. We can never stop dreaming.”

“It’s one of the simplest and most basic human rights on earth. We all have the right to dream. I know it’s hard to reach the World Cup [finals], but everything is possible in football.

“Being in this position [in the qualifiers] is already a dream, and going to the next step is another.”

Palestine’s Rami Hamade, right, celebrates after the match against South Korea [Kim Soo-hyeon/Reuters]

Flying the flag for Palestine

As the team tackles its challenges on the road to 2026, the Palestinians in Gaza continue to be targets of the Israeli forces, who have killed more than 40,000 people and wounded over 94,000, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. In Israel, 1,139 people were killed in the October 7 Hamas-led attacks, which started the current war.

The nearly yearlong war has also left its impact on football, the most popular sport in Palestine, and the Palestinian football team.

As of August, at least 410 athletes, sports officials or coaches had been killed in the war, according to the Palestine Football Association. Of these, 297 were footballers, including 84 children who harboured dreams of playing for Palestine.

After the war began, Palestine Football Association (PFA) Vice President Susan Shalabi began recording the deaths of those associated with the game in Gaza. It was her attempt to humanise the numbers and tell their stories.

However, she had to stop as she struggled to keep up with the mounting numbers and the emotional toll of mourning the loss.

The trauma of war and the loss of friends and family has impacted the players as well.

“No human, whether they are Palestinian or not, can see what’s happening and not be affected by it,” Palestine international Rashid said.

He then reveals his coping mechanism: “Two days before the match, I try my best not to look at the news because it really affects us.”

Rashid said that while other players may deal with their emotions differently, there is no denying that it is “pretty hard” for everybody to carry on playing.

He explains that “flying the flag for Palestine” means more than any result.

“There’s more to it than just football,” the Ramallah-born player said.

The 29-year-old said the team plays for every Palestinian at home, every Palestinian who is overseas and in the refugee camps all over the world.

“We never play for us. When we play for the national team, we represent the whole Palestinian community all over the world.”

Palestine’s players celebrate during their AFC Asian Cup match against Hong Kong in Doha [File: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters]

Home away from home

After the draw in Seoul in Palestine’s first match of the qualifiers, the team travelled to Kuala Lumpur to “host” Jordan in the Malaysian capital.

Since the October 7 attacks in southern Israel and the ensuing war, Palestine have not been able to play any international games at home.

In November, they were due to host Australia at the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium in ar-Ram, northeast of Jerusalem, but security concerns dictated otherwise. It would have been their first match on home soil since a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia in October 2019.

In the previous round of World Cup qualifiers, Palestine’s home games were played in Kuwait and Qatar while Indonesia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Algeria offered to host them as well.

Malaysia, a staunch ally of Palestine, offered the same, and to cut down on travel from Seoul, Kuala Lumpur was chosen the host for the mouthwatering all-Arab tie.

While Palestine can expect strong support from locals and the Palestinian community in Malaysia, there can be no substitute for playing at home.

Protesters march during a pro-Palestine demonstration in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 28, 2023 [Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters]

It remains to be seen if Palestine can host Kuwait at home for their next home game on October 15.

While FIFA has granted conditional approval for the PFA to host games at the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, the logistics are not simple. And until the PFA is able to turn the hope into a reality, Palestine are forced to find neutral venues for their home games.

They take strength from knowing that several nations have opened their arms to host Palestine.

“It means a lot to us,” PFA’s Shalabi explained. “We feel that we are not alone, and that’s very important for a people who are besieged, being tormented and killed.”

For Palestine to fulfil their dream of making it to the North American World Cup in 2026, they need to achieve one of two scenarios: be among the top two teams in their group – which besides South Korea and Jordan also features Iraq, Oman and Kuwait – or finish the current round in third or fourth place and progress to the fourth round, in which six teams will battle for the final two automatic berths.

FIFA’s official men’s rankings place Palestine (96) well behind South Korea (22), Iraq (55) and Jordan (68), making it appear difficult for them to finish ahead of those three countries. However, finishing third or fourth and giving themselves another shot at qualification is very much on the cards.

Hope of the Palestinian people

There is little doubt that the team represents hope to the Palestinian people. The story of PFA Deputy General Secretary Sami Abu Al Hussein indicates how.

Al Hussein decided to separate members of his family to avoid  losing both his children to an Israeli attack. If they were in separate locations, he figured, one would survive if the other didn’t.

Despite the war and the division of his family, Al Hussein phoned his colleague Shalabi to express his excitement about the qualifiers and relay the emotions of the people seeking a brief respite from the war.

“It signifies the hope the team represents for Palestine,” said Shalabi, who is also a member of the Asian Football Confederation’s executive committee.

“We are so proud of them because in what they are doing now, they are providing a voice for the whole of Palestine, especially the ones who are living under this genocide in Gaza,” she said.

“If the only thing that they could accomplish is to make a child in Gaza smile, they would have done enough.”

The grandmother, centre, of Palestine defender and captain Musab al-Battat prays as she watches the AFC Asian Cup 2023 football match between Qatar and Palestine at their family home in the village of al-Dhahiriya south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on January 29, 2024 [Hazem Bader/AFP]