Preview: Palestine vs. Australia (2026 World Cup Qualifier)
Palestine seeks first goal and first win of the qualifying cycle following their 0-0 draw vs Lebanon.
What: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier
When: Tuesday, November 21st
Where: Kuwait City, Kuwait | Jaber Al-Ahmad Stadium
Kickoff: 16:00 Jerusalem Time
TV/Streaming: Subscribe to Football Palestine on Substack (Free) to receive a streaming link to your inbox on hour before kickoff
Previous Encounters:
11.01.2019: Australia 3:0 Palestine (2019 AFC Asian Cup)
Tickets: Palestinians in Kuwait are planning on attending the game in their thousands. It remains to be seen if that would be enough to fill up the cavernous Jaber El-Ahmad Stadium (60,000 capacity). Tickets can be purchased here.
Last Match Day: Australia ran out 7-0 winners over Bangladesh. The Socceroos missed a late penalty in the game that could have granted them an even larger margin of victory on home soil. Palestine drew Lebanon 0-0 in Sharjah, in what was Lebanon's home game.
Absences for the Socceroos: Australia are without a host of attacking players for this game- something Palestine will hope swings the game in their favor. The verdict on Graham Arnold's side is that for all their neatness in possession they can sometimes get stuck in a cycle of horizontal passing. Palestine will aim to constrict space and have the Socceroos revert to those old habits.
The likes of Ajdin Hrustic- perhaps the one player whose passes could split a defence- is not here. Awer Mabil and Matthew Leckie are also out with injuries.
Some of the changes are, of course, by design. Australia had the oldest squad in Qatar 13 months ago and early stages of qualifying provide a litmus test for young talent coming through the pipeline. In the starting eleven that faced Bangladesh, the back line was made up of three players with five caps or less. In fact the trio of Jordan Bos, Cameron Burgess, and Lewis Miller had a combined 11 caps to their name.
Streak on the Line: most followers of Palestinian football will know that the national team has an enviable record at home. Al-Fida’i has never lost on home soil on a FIFA Match Day amassing a record of 5W-5D-0L in World Cup and Asian Cup qualifying but perhaps more impressive is their record since 2013 in home and neutral qualifiers. Palestine are undefeated in 20 qualifiers with a record of 17 wins and three draws. Their last loss came during the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup third place match- a 4-3 loss to Philippines.
That record will be put to the test against Australia who were flying during 2022 World Cup qualification- setting a record for consecutive victories before hitting a snag. Palestine have successfully defended their record before- beating Oman and Uzbekistan and drawing multiple times against Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Palestine might be underdogs but it would be foolish for the Socceroos to dismiss them.
Five for Fighting: When these teams last met, Palestine were a defensive unit committed to Noureddine Ould Ali’s bunkerball and a 4-2-3-1 formation. Makram Daboub now has the team set up in a more dynamic 4-3-3 formation but he has also tinkered in friendlies and it seems likely that a change in formation awaits us. There are also clues in the personnel that was rested against Lebanon. Mohammed Rashid and Yaser Hamed Mayor are automatic starters but were replaced by capable deputies. who had been in camp longer, against Lebanon. Those two will almost certainly feature and don’t be surprised in Mahmoud Wadi is drafted to tussle with Harry Souttar.
Australia will also rotate and Graham Arnold had an eye on this game when he made a triple substitution at halftime against Bangladesh.
The five man backfield had marginal success in Palestine's opening game of the FIFA Arab Cup. Palestine kept Morocco at bay for half an hour before a goalkeeping error allowed the Atals Lions to take the lead. Palestine trotted out the formation against China in June with more success although a lack of a cutting edge in attack saw Palestine succumb to a 2-0 loss. Oday Dabbagh was not present for either game so the question is how he would be used- as a lone striker in a 5-4-1? Or as a midfielder with defensive duties?
Palestine will be eager to also set the record straight after falling 3-0 to the Socceroos at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. That game was over in 15 minutes with the Australians taking advantage of Musab Al-Battat being deployed as a CB. Palestine did display a good amount of grit and matched the intensity of the Australians but had little idea how to approach the game after going down by two goals so early.
Gaza Donations: The Socceroos did announce that they would be donating a portion of the player fees to Oxfam. It remains to be seen whether the team will take part in a moment of silence or calls for a ceasefire which would put them at odds with their government’s policy.
Travel: Palestine reached Kuwait on Friday, making the short flight from Dubai. Australia traveled on Saturday. There will be a certain amount of fatigue in spite of Football Australia making arrangements to use a charter flight. 19/23 of the current squad play outside of Australia. Mitchell Duke's flight from Tokyo (a mere 9 hours and 50 minutes) would have been the shortest journey to Melbourne for the match against Bangladesh.