Palestine World Cup dream ends after late penalty heartbreak against Oman

Palestine are denied by precocious Oman punishment successful a 1-1 gully that ends their dreams of a archetypal FIFA World Cup appearance.

Palestine’s historical Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifying run for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was ended by a precocious Oman punishment successful a 1-1 gully successful their last radical game.

Needing a triumph to scope the 4th circular of the AFC qualifiers, Palestine led heavy into 5 minutes of wounded clip done Oday Kharoub’s extremity aboriginal successful the 2nd half.

The scoreline would person been capable to propel Palestine past Oman into the 4th and last qualifying spot successful Group B of the 3rd circular of the AFC qualifiers – a signifier they had besides reached for the archetypal time.

However, a tug of the garment connected a runner chasing a escaped footwear from the heavy was spotted by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), and Palestine’s imagination of a archetypal quality astatine a shot World Cup ended with Essam Al-Subhi’s spot footwear successful the 97th infinitesimal of the match.

Oman’s Essam Al-Subhi celebrates scoring their equalising extremity arsenic Palestine players respond with disbelief [Alaa Al Sukhni/Reuters]

Kharoub’s headed extremity came aft a good archetypal fractional for Palestine, successful which Michel Termanini struck the barroom with a header.

Wessam Ali had a 2nd for Palestine ruled retired for a marginal offside, lone moments aft Oman’s Harib Al-Saadi saw reddish for a 2nd yellowish pursuing a foul connected Hamed Hamdan successful the 73rd minute.

The decisive infinitesimal came, though, erstwhile Muhsen Al-Ghassani ran wide successful the container successful an effort to scope a looped shot successful the area. Ahmed Taha’s drawback astatine the runner was deemed amerciable and the eliminating footwear was awarded against Palestine.

Palestine’s AFC Asian Cup astir the spark for World Cup dream

The tally to the 3rd circular of the AFC World Cup qualifiers for the archetypal clip followed Palestine’s singular feat of reaching the knockout stages of the past AFC Asian Cup for the archetypal time.

A archetypal quality astatine football’s planetary showpiece was lone 1 much circular distant until the precocious play astatine the King Abdullah II Stadium successful Amman, Jordan, wherever Palestine were forced to signifier their location matches owed to Israel’s warfare connected Gaza.

The full-time whistle, and with it, anticipated scenes of chaotic solemnisation was cruelly lone seconds distant for Palestine.

Instead, the hostility that was palpably gathering up of the referee calling an extremity to the lucifer turned to scenes of despair arsenic tears rolled down the cheeks of the Palestine players, galore of whom collapsed to the level successful disbelief.

Palestine’s Wessam Ali, right, thought helium had scored his side’s 2nd extremity with a slotted decorativeness lone for the extremity to beryllium disallowed for offside [Alaa Al Sukhni/Reuters]

Oman present articulation Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Iraq and Indonesia, who lost 6-0 to Japan earlier successful the day, successful the 4th circular of qualifiers, from which 2 teams volition articulation the already six qualified nations from the 3rd circular of qualifiers.

One last accidental volition beryllium disposable for the third-placed squad from the 4th circular of qualifiers, arsenic that federation volition advancement to the FIFA Intercontinental Playoffs successful a last-chance saloon to enactment up astatine adjacent year’s finals.

Australia became the last squad to corroborate their automatic qualification from the 3rd circular of qualifiers erstwhile they saw disconnected Saudi Arabia’s situation for 2nd spot successful Group C with a 2-1 triumph successful Jeddah.

Alongside Australia – Japan, Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Jordan, finished arsenic the apical 2 finishers successful their radical to publication their places astatine the 2026 tourney successful the United States, Canada and Mexico. The second two qualified for a World Cup for the archetypal time.

Palestine’s Oday Kharoub celebrates scoring the archetypal extremity of the game, which for truthful agelong appeared to beryllium sending his squad to the adjacent circular of qualifiers for the World Cup [Alaa Al Sukhni/Reuters]

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies