Palestine national football team

Palestine

Nickname(s)	الفدائيون (The Fedayeen) الفرسان (The Knights) أسود كنعان (Lions of Canaan)
Association	Palestinian Football Association
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	WAFF (West Asia)
Head coach	Abdel Nasser Barakat
Captain	Abdelatif Bahdari
Most caps	Ramzi Saleh (107)
Top scorer	Fahed Attal, Ashraf Nu'man (14)
Home stadium	Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium
FIFA code	PLE
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	133 13 (24 November 2016)
Highest	85 (July 2014)
Lowest	191 (April–August 1999)
Elo ranking
Current	119 (29 June 2016)
Highest	118 (Spring 2016)
Lowest	159 (October 2011)
First international
Egypt 8–1 Palestine (Alexandria, Egypt; 26 July 1953)
Biggest win
Palestine 11–0 Guam  (Dhaka, Bangladesh; 1 April 2006)
Biggest defeat
Egypt 8–1 Palestine (Alexandria, Egypt; 26 July 1953)  Iran 7–0 Palestine (Tehran, Iran; 5 October 2011)
Asian Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2015)
Best result	Group stage, 2015

The Palestine national football team (Arabic: منتخب فلسطين لكرة القدم‎‎) is the national football team of Palestinian National Authority and represents the Authority in international football.^[1]

A football federation in Mandatory Palestine was founded in 1928; However, a team for a future Arab state to be called Palestine was first recognized by FIFA in 1998, after the creation of the Palestinian National Authority. Palestine has yet to qualify for the World Cup. They first qualified for the Asian Cup in May 2014, after beating the Philippines 1–0 in the AFC Challenge Cup final. At the finals in Australia, they were eliminated in the group stage.

The team reached an all-time high position of 85th in the FIFA ranking in July 2014 after winning the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. Following their recognition by FIFA, the team played no official fixtures in the Palestinian territories due to security concerns until a match on 26 October 2008 against Jordan in the newly renovated Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium in Al-Ram north of Jerusalem, which finished in a 1–1 draw.^[2] In recognition of their efforts the Palestinian Football Federation was awarded FIFA's inaugural Development Award and AFC National Team of the Year.^[3]

History

Palestine applied to, and was admitted into FIFA in 1998. They played their first friendly matches against Lebanon, Jordan and Syria in July 1998. The following year, the team, led by Israeli-Arab coach Azmi Nasser took part in the 1999 Pan Arab Games, in which they won the bronze medal after beating Syria, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, while only losing to hosts Jordan.

Palestine's first attempt to qualify for the 2000 AFC Asian Cup and the 2002 FIFA World Cup were unsuccessful, but saw victories against Hong Kong and Malaysia.

In 2002, the PFA hired Nicola Hadwa Shahwan as manager. Shahwan, who was born in Beit Jala, grew up in Chile and had many connections among Santiago's Palestinian community, whence he brought Roberto Bishara, Roberto Kettlun, Edgardo Abdala, Francisco Atura and the Argentine-born Pablo Abdala into the squad. These players made their debuts in the 2002 Arab Nations Cup. The team exited in the group stage but managed draws against group winners Jordan, hosts Kuwait, and Sudan, with their only loss coming against eventual semi-finalists Morocco.

In 2004, two more Arab Latin Americans joined the Palestinian national team Hernán Madrid and the Argentine-born Alejandro Naif.

After an unsuccessful Asian Cup qualifying campaign, the PFA hired Austrian coach Alfred Riedl to lead the team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifications. Palestine were drawn in a group alongside Uzbekistan, Iraq and Chinese Taipei. In their first match, Palestine recorded an historic 8–0 win against the Taiwanese; two months later a 1–1 draw against Iraq put Palestine in first place in the group. Preparation for the team's third game, away to Uzbekistan, were hampered after the Israeli authorities refused travel permits for nearly half the squad. Barely able to put together a full team, Palestine sank to a 3–0 defeat, before losing both of their remaining games.

Palestine were drawn in a group in Asian Cup qualifying for the 2007 tournament alongside 2004 finalists China, eventual winners Iraq, and Singapore. Palestine still had a chance of qualifying until the penultimate round, after a 1–0 win against Singapore and a 2–2 draw against Iraq. Palestine was invited to participate in the inaugural Challenge Cup in Bangladesh, where they beat Guam 11–0, Cambodia 4–0 and drew with Bangladesh to top their group and reach the quarterfinal, where they were beaten 1–0 by Kyrgyzstan. In the summer of 2006, Palestine achieved its highest ever FIFA ranking at 115, placing them 16th in the Asian continent. The team remained without a manager for most of 2007 and preparations for World Cup Qualifying were severely lacking. Palestine lost the first leg of a two-legged play-off against Singapore 0–4 and could not play the return leg as a result of Israeli travel restrictions.

In 2008, with the assistance of FIFA's Goal program, Jibril Rajoub, head of the PFA had the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium built, and on 26 October 2008 Palestine held a match on home soil for the first time since becoming a member of FIFA, a 1–1 draw with Jordan in front of a crowd in excess of 7,000.^[2] Palestine received the inaugural FIFA Development Award in recognition of the achievement.^[3]

Two and a half years later, in March 2011, Palestine played its first ever competitive home game. The game, at the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, was the second leg of a qualifier for the 2012 Olympic Games, against Thailand. Thailand had won the first leg 1–0 in Bangkok; Palestine won the second 1–0 with a goal by Abdelhamid Abuhabib in the 43rd minute. The draw on aggregate led to a penalty shootout, where Palestine lost by 5–6.^[4] However, as Thailand was ordered to forfeit the first match because of fielding an ineligible player,^[5] Palestine replaced Thailand to play Bahrain next. In the next round against Bahrain, although Palestine won the first leg at Bahrain National Stadium by 1–0,^[6] they lost the return leg by 1–2^[7] and eliminated by away goals rule.^[8]

The team beat Afghanistan 3–1 on aggregate (2–0 away, 1–1 home) in the first round of AFC qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They faced Thailand in the second round, with an away match on 23 July 2011 in Buriram, and a home match on 28 July at Al-Ram. Palestine lost the away leg 1–0, with back-up goalkeeper Mohammed Shbair saving a penalty in the dying moments of the match to keep the tie alive. Palestine took a 1–0 lead in the 6th minute of the return leg through a Murad Alyan goal but conceded 10 minutes before halftime, meaning they would have to win by two clear goals in order to advance. Palestine took a 2–1 lead late in the second half but had a man sent off and conceded a goal whilst desperately searching for a winner. They were eliminated from AFC qualification on an aggregate score of 2–3, if the Asian Football Confederation elects to keep the same qualifying format for the 2018 FIFA World Cup they will be ranked 21st and receive a 1st round bye.

The PFA elected not to renew Moussa Bezaz's contract after the team failed to advance to the Third Round of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Former Al-Wehdat player and manager Jamal Mahmoud was announced as the national team manager in November 2011 after two disastrous friendlies without a permanent manager saw the team lose 4–1 and 7–0 to Indonesia and Iran, respectively. His first official match was a friendly against Bahrain in Manama which Palestine won 1–0 courtesy of Ali El-Khatib's first international goal. Palestine lost its first game at the 2011 Pan Arab Games to Jordan but recovered well in their following group games. Earning a well-deserved 1–1 draw and a 2–0 win over 2012 African Cup of Nations finalists Libya and Sudan to advance to the semifinals of the competition. The team eventually exited the competition against eventual champions Bahrain under dubious circumstances when the Bahrainis were awarded a phantom goal in the second half to make the score 3–1.

Mahmoud led the team three months later at the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup. In the run up to the competition, Palestine made history by playing and defeating its first UEFA opponent, Azerbaijan, 2–0. Preparation for the competition was less than ideal with Abdelatif Bahdari, Roberto Bishara, Omar Jarun, Majed Abusidu, Ali El-Khatib, and Imad Zatara unavailable due to club commitments and having Raed Fares, Haitham Theeb, Ismail Amour, Mohammed Al-Masri, Rafit Eyad and Murad Alyan out with injury. Palestine were further denied the services of many players based in Lebanon due to visa issues. Despite these hardships Palestine finished group play at the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup without conceding a goal after 2–0 wins over Nepal and Maldives along with a 0–0 draw against Turkmenistan.

Palestine won their first West Asian Football Federation Championship match in 2012, defeating Lebanon 1–0 in Kuwait City. In 2013, They secured a second straight AFC Challenge Cup berth, qualifying for the 2014 edition by topping Group D with 7 points, ahead of Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The team ended up winning the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup without conceding a goal and drawing just one out of five games. The win brought the Palestine team their first major trophy and assured them of participation in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, also their first ever. They were placed in Group D alongside Japan, Jordan and Iraq which lost all three group matches. They were defeated 0–4 by Japan, lost 1–5 to Jordan and finished their campaign with a 0–2 loss to Iraq.

Home matches in Palestine (Official)

  Win   Draw   Loss

Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition	Palestine scorers
26 October 2008	Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, Jerusalem	Jordan	1–1	Friendly	Ahmed Keshkesh
3 July 2011	Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, Jerusalem	Afghanistan	1–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying	Houssam Wadi
28 July 2011	Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, Jerusalem	Thailand	2–2	2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying	Murad Alyan (2)
8 September 2015	Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, Jerusalem	United Arab Emirates	0–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying
29 March 2016	Dora International Stadium, Hebron	Timor-Leste	7–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying	Yashir Pinto (2), Jonathan Cantillana (2), Jaka Ihbeisheh, Ahmed Awad, Abdelatif Bahdari

Problems relating to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The Palestinian Football Federation faces problems in training and playing due to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Because of travel restrictions placed by Israel upon people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the difficulty in obtaining an exit visa from Israel, many players in the team are drawn from the Palestinian diaspora, from as far away as Chile and the United States.^[9] Recently, Israel's refusal to issue exit visas has resulted in players, or in some case the entire team, being unable to represent the territories. In November 2006 (the last match of 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification group stage is scheduled), all players based inside the West Bank and Gaza Strip were denied exit visas. The AFC cancelled the match since both teams had been eliminated from the competition by virtue of their previous results against China and Iraq.^[10] A film, Goal Dreams, was made about the team attempting to overcome obstacles in the qualification for the 2006 World Cup, who were also featured on the BBC documentary series Frontline Football.

In October 2007, the second leg of a crucial 2010 World Cup qualifier between Palestine and Singapore was not played due to Palestine's inability to obtain exit visas. The AFC and FIFA decided not to reschedule the match despite protests from the PFA, and Singapore was awarded a 3–0 win in a walkover match.^[11] In May 2008, the team was not allowed to travel to the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup. After a 2011 World Cup qualifier against Thailand, two starters, Mohammed Samara and Majed Abusidu, were refused entry to the West Bank and therefore could not travel back with the team from Thailand.^[12]

Striker Ziyad Al-Kord was banned from traveling and had his house destroyed.^[13] Tariq al Quto was killed by the Israel Defense Forces,^[14] and during the Operation Cast Lead three Palestinian footballers, Ayman Alkurd, Shadi Sbakhe and Wajeh Moshtahe, were among the Palestinian casualties.^[15]

Mahmoud Sarsak was administratively detained by Israel in July 2009 for being a member of Islamic Jihad; following a hunger strike and international pressure on his behalf from FIFA President Sepp Blatter, he was released in July 2012.^[16] In 2012, Olympic Team goalkeeper Omar Abu Ruways was arrested by Israel for being a member of a terrorist cell.^[17]

Sameh Maraaba was arrested in April after returning with his team from training in Qatar. The Shin Bet accused Maraaba of exploiting his status as a Palestinian football player to act as a courier for Hamas. ^[18] Shin Bet released a statement in which it was contended that Maraaba admitted that, before he left for Qatar, he met a senior Hamas operative in Kalkilya, asked him to meet an operative from Hamas' military wing in Qatar and received money, a cellphone and written messages which he brought back to Hamas operatives in Kalkilya. ^[18]

Palestinian facilities, such as Palestine Stadium, have been damaged in military conflicts.^[19]

The team's former goalkeeper Abu Rwayyis was arrested in connection with an attack on IDF soldiers in April 2012.^[20]

Competition records

FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup record Qualifications record Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GP W D L GS GA 1930 to 1998 Did not enter – – – – – – 2002 Did not qualify 6 2 1 3 8 9 2006 6 2 1 3 10 11 2010 1 0 0 1 0 4 2014 4 1 2 1 5 4 2018 8 3 3 2 22 6 Total – 0/20 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 8 7 10 45 34

Olympic Games Olympic Games record Qualifications record Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA GP W D L GS GA 1900 to 2000 Did not enter Did not enter 2004 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 5 4 2008 2 0 1 1 2 3 2012 4 3 0 1 6 2 2016 4 2 0 2 6 5 Total – 0/23 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 7 2 5 19 14

AFC Asian Cup AFC Asian Cup Finals Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA 1956 to 1996 Did not enter 2000 Did not qualify 2004 2007 2011 2015 Group Stage 16th 3 0 0 3 1 11 2019 TBD Total Group Stage 1/16 3 0 0 3 1 11 AFC Challenge Cup AFC Challenge Cup Record Qualifications Record Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA GP W D L GS GA 2006 Quarterfinals 5th 4 2 1 1 16 2 Automatic qualification 2008 Withdrew Withdrew 2010 Did Not Qualify 2 0 2 0 1 1 2012 Fourth Place 4th 5 2 1 2 7 6 3 2 1 0 5 1 2014 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 6 0 3 2 1 0 10 0 Total Champions 3/5 14 8 3 3 29 8 8 4 4 0 16 2 WAFF Championship WAFF Championship Finals Year Round Pld W D L GS GA 2000 Group Stage 3 0 1 2 3 5 2002 Group Stage 2 0 0 2 1 4 2004 Group Stage 2 0 1 1 2 3 2007 Group Stage 2 0 0 2 0 3 2008 Group Stage 2 0 0 2 0 4 2010 Group Stage 2 0 0 2 1 6 2012 Group Stage 3 1 0 2 3 4 2014 Group Stage 2 0 1 1 0 1 Total Group Stage 18 1 3 14 10 30 West Asian Games West Asian Games Year Round Pld W D L GS GA 1997 Did not enter 2002 Fourth Place 4 1 1 2 5 11 2005 Group Stage 2 0 0 2 0 6 Total Fourth Place 6 1 1 4 5 17 Arab Nations Cup Arab Nations Cup Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1963 Did not enter 1964 1966 Group Stage 5 3 1 1 1 8 3 1985 Did not enter 1988 1992 Group Stage 5 2 0 1 1 1 2 1998 Did not enter 2002 Group Stage 9 4 0 3 1 7 9 2012 Group Stage 9 2 0 1 1 2 4 Total Group Stage 4/9 11 1 6 4 18 18 Pan Arab Games Pan Arab Games Year Round Pld W D L GS GA 1953 Group Stage 2 0 0 2 3 13 1957 Did not enter 1961 Did not enter 1965 Group Stage 6 2 1 3 7 9 1976 Group Stage 6 2 1 3 4 9 1985 Did not enter 1992 Group Stage 2 0 1 1 1 2 1999 Third Place 6 2 2 2 6 9 2007 Did not enter 2011 Fourth Place 5 1 1 3 5 11 Total Third Place 27 7 6 14 26 55 Results and fixtures Group A Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification 1  Saudi Arabia 8 6 2 0 28 4 +24 20 Third round and Asian Cup — 2–1 3–2 2–0 7–0 2  United Arab Emirates 8 5 2 1 25 4 +21 17 1–1 — 2–0 10–0 8–0 3  Palestine 8 3 3 2 22 6 +16 12 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–0 0–0 — 6–0 7–0 4  Malaysia 8 1 1 6 3 30 −27 4 Asian Cup qualifying play-off round 0–3[lower-alpha 1] 1–2 0–6 — 1–1 5  Timor-Leste 8 0 2 6 2 36 −34 2 0–10 0–1 1–1 0–1 — Source: FIFA Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers Notes: The Malaysia v Saudi Arabia match, on 8 September 2015, was abandoned during the 87th minute after a group of supporters threw objects onto the pitch. At the time of the abandonment the score was 2–1 to Saudi Arabia. On 5 October 2015, FIFA decided that this match was forfeited by Malaysia and the result to be declared as a 3–0 win awarded for Saudi Arabia.[21][22] Saudi Arabia  v  Palestine 11 June 2015[note 1] Saudi Arabia  3–2  Palestine Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam 21:00 UTC+3 Al-Shehri  6' Al-Sahlawi  46', 90+4' Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Tamburrini  51' Jadue  90+1' Attendance: 4,820 Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar) Malaysia  v  Palestine 16 June 2015 Malaysia  0–6  Palestine Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur 20:45 UTC+8 Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Al-Batat  9' Maraaba  22', 75' Seyam  41', 86' Yousef  63' Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Kim Sang-woo (South Korea) Palestine  v  United Arab Emirates 8 September 2015 Palestine  0–0  United Arab Emirates Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, Al-Ram 17:00 UTC+3 Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Ali Sabah Adday Al-Qaysi (Iraq) Timor-Leste  v  Palestine 8 October 2015 Timor-Leste  1–1  Palestine Dili Municipal Stadium, Dili 16:00 UTC+9 Saro  54' Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Abu Nahyeh  90+2' Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Kim Dong-jin (South Korea) Palestine  v  Saudi Arabia 9 November 2015[note 1] Palestine  0–0  Saudi Arabia Amman International Stadium, Amman (Jordan)[note 2] 16:00 UTC+2 Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan) Palestine  v  Malaysia 12 November 2015 Palestine  6–0  Malaysia Amman International Stadium, Amman (Jordan)[note 2] 16:00 UTC+2 Zorrilla  37' Abu Nahyeh  38', 45', 58' Seyam  88' Ihbeisheh  90+1' Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Attendance: 9,772 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman) United Arab Emirates  v  Palestine 24 March 2016 United Arab Emirates  2–0  Palestine Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 19:00 UTC+4 Ismail Al Hammadi  32' Ahmed Khalil  60' (pen.) Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Attendance: 15,822 Referee: Ben Williams (Oman) Palestine  v  Timor-Leste 29 March 2016 Palestine  7–0  Timor-Leste Dora International Stadium, Hebron 17:00 UTC+3 Ihbeisheh  2' Cantillana  18', 66' Pinto  32', 39' Awad  77' Bahdari  90' Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka) Players Current squad The following players were called up for Exhibition game vs.Lebanon on November 10th 2016.[28] Caps and goals as of 11 November 2016, after the match against Lebanon. 0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Tawfiq Ali 8 November 1990 28 0 Shabab Al-Khalil 22 GK Rami Hamadi 20 April 1991 0 0 Thaqafi Tulkarem 16 GK Ghanem Mahajna 20 April 1991 (aged 24) 0 0 Shabab Al-Khalil 21 DF Mohammed Abu Khamis 25 May 1991 1 0 Hilal Al-Quds 3 DF Ala'a Abu Saleh 25 June 1987 3 0 Shabab Al-Khalil 15 DF Abdelatif Bahdari 20 February 1984 41 3 Tala'ea El-Gaish SC 21 DF Oday Dabagh 3 December 1999 0 0 Hilal Al-Qudsl 14 DF Abdullah Jaber 17 February 1993 25 1 Ahli Al-Khaleel 4 DF Yazan Iwawi 6 June 1994 0 0 Shabab Al-Khaleel 5 DF Tamer Salah 3 February 1986 12 0 Hilal Al-Quds 8 DF Fadi Salbees 1 May 1993 2 0 Hilal Al-Quds 4 DF Mohammed Saleh 18 July 1993 2 0 Ahli Al-Khaleel 20 MF Ahmed Awad 1 June 1992 2 1 Dalkurd FF 23 MF Mohammed Darwish 6 February 1991 9 0 Hilal Al-Quds 13 MF Jaka Ihbeisheh 29 August 1986 11 3 Al-Shamal 9 MF Oday Kharoub 2 April 1993 1 0 Shabab Al-Khaleel 10 MF Sameh Maraaba 18 March 1993 11 2 Thaqafi Tulkarem 9 MF Tamer Seyam 28 November 1992 18 4 Hilal Al-Quds 6 MF Mohammed Yameen 19 September 1994 2 0 Thaqafi Tulkarem 12 FW Ahmad Abu Nahyeh 7 July 1991 7 5 Shabab Al-Khalil 11 FW Islam Batran 1 October 1994 2 0 Wadi Degla 18 FW Mahmoud Eid 23 June 1993 12 1 Kalmar FF 29 FW Rodrigo Gattas 12 February 1992 0 0 Hilal Al-Quds Recent call-ups The following players have also been called up to the Palestine squad within the last 12 months. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up GK Azmi Shweki 13 June 1986 0 0 Ahli Al-Khaleel v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 6 September 2016 DF Muamen Agbaria 24 August 1993 2 0 Shabab Al-Khaleel v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 5 October 2016 DF Mus'ab Al-Batat 21 November 1993 12 1 Shabab Al-Dhahiriya v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 6 September 2016 DF Haytham Dheeb 3 December 1986 23 1 Shabab Al-Khalil v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 6 September 2016 DF Mahmoud Dayfallah 1 January 1990 0 0 Ahli Al-Khaleel v.  Malaysia; WCQ 12 November 2015 DF Alexis Norambuena 31 March 1984 11 0 Shabab Al-Khalil v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 5 October 2016 MF Abdelhamid Abuhabib 8 June 1989 33 7 Balata v.  Malaysia; WCQ 12 November 2015 MF Jonathan Cantillana 26 May 1992 8 4 Kuala Lumpur FA v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 5 October 2016 MF Hamad Ghanayim 8 July 1987 0 0 Shabab Al-Khaleel v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 6 September 2016 MF Hesham Salhe 8 November 1987 15 1 Hilal Al-Quds v.  Malaysia; WCQ 12 November 2015 MF Shadi Shaban 4 March 1992 2 0 CD Palestino v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 5 October 2016 MF Pablo Tamburrini 30 January 1990 9 1 Shabab Al-Khalil v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 6 September 2016 MF Khader Yousef 6 October 1984 63 2 Wadi Al-Nes v.  Timor-Leste; WCQ 29 March 2016 MF Imad Zatara 1 October 1984 27 3 Mesaimeer v.  Malaysia; WCQ 12 November 2015 FW Qasim Mahamied 1 January 1992 0 0 Shabab Al-Dhahiriya v.  Malaysia; WCQ 12 November 2015 FW Ashraf Nu'man 29 July 1986 53 14 Shabab Al-Khalil v.  Timor-Leste; WCQ 29 March 2016 FW Yashir Pinto 6 February 1991 3 2 Melaka United v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 5 October 2016 FW Matías Jadue 16 May 1992 6 1 PKNS FC v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 5 October 2016 FW Carlos Salom 15 April 1987 1 1 Unión Española v.  Tajikistan; Friendly 6 September 2016 Past squads 2006 AFC Challenge Cup squad 2012 AFC Challenge Cup squad 2012 Arab Nations Cup squad 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad Top goalscorers As of 1 April 2016 # Name Career Goals Caps 1 Fahed Attal 2005– 14 40 Ashraf Nu'man* 2009– 14 53 3 Ziyad Al-Kord 1998–2006 10 30 4 Murad Alyan 2011– 7 9 Ismail Al-Amour 2005– 7 46 Abdelhamid Abuhabib* 2011– 7 33 Includes 2011 Pan Arab Games, Friendlies v Malaysia, Azerbaijan, & Jordan Includes Challenge Cup qualifier vs. Northern Mariana Islands. See also Palestine national football team all-time record Palestine national football team results Palestine national under-23 football team Palestine women's national football team Notes The fixtures between Saudi Arabia and Palestine were switched after Saudi Arabia cited "exceptional conditions" for their inability to travel to the West Bank.[23] The return fixture, originally to be played on 13 October 2015 at the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, Al-Ram, was later postponed due to Saudi Arabia's refusal to pass through Israeli-controlled borders,[24] until the process of agreeing on the venue is concluded.[25] The home matches of Palestine against Saudi Arabia and Malaysia will be played on neutral ground as the Palestinian government confirmed that it could no longer guarantee the safety and security for the matches.[26] The neutral venue was announced to be Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan.[27] References While serving only the Palestinian territories, FIFA adopted the Palestinian Football Association as the National Football Association of "Palestine" to avoid being required to make political judgements while a lasting solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is yet to be found. For discussion of the use of this term, see definitions of Palestine. For a similar situation, see Chinese Taipei. Maqbool, Aleem (2008-10-27). "'Palestine' take to field of dreams". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 2008-10-28. "Palestine scoop Development Prize". FIFA.com. FIFA. 2009-01-12. Retrieved 2009-04-12. "Palestinian footballers in bittersweet Olympic match", BBC, 9 March 2011 "Palestine to replace Thailand in Olympic Qualifiers second round". the-afc.com. 2011-05-04. Retrieved 2011-06-22. FIFA OLYMPIC FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT 2012 MATCH SUMMARY FIFA OLYMPIC FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT 2012 MATCH SUMMARY "Palestine 1–2 Bahrain (2–2 agg; Bahrain win on away goals)". Asian Football Confederation. 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2011-07-05. Taji Farouky, Saeed (2006-06-07). "Palestine team's World Cup woes". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2006-09-28. "Singapore, Palestine match called off". the-afc.com. 2006-11-15. "Asia WCQ: Singapore Given Tie After Palestine No-Show". GOAL.com. 2007-10-29. Wahl, Grant, "Welcome to the World", Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Online, 8 August 2011, pp. 36–40. "Film documents hardships facing Palestinian football team". 2004-11-04. Retrieved 2006-09-28. Willacy, Mark (2006-06-30). "Palestinian National Football Team prepares for the next World Cup despite difficulties". ABC News (Australia) Online. Retrieved 2006-09-28. "Three Palestinian soccer players killed in Gaza violence | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire". En.rian.ru. 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2010-01-05. Israel to release Mahmoud Sarsak (18 June 2012). Associated Press. "'Red Crescent workers behind shooting attack' } Jerusalem Post } 'Jerusalem Post". jpost.com. 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2012-04-02. "Shin Bet busts Palestinian footballer for meeting with Hamas terrorist in Qatar &#124". 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2014-06-11. "'FIFA to fund Gaza soccer field repair' } ynetnews } 'Ynetnews". ynetnews.com. 2006-11-04. Retrieved 2012-09-09. "&#124". 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2014-06-11. Rashvinjeet S. Bedi; T. Avineshwaran (8 September 2015). "Malaysia-Saudi match abandoned after crowd trouble". The Star. Retrieved 8 September 2015. "Malaysian FA sanctioned after abandonment of FIFA World Cup qualifier". FIFA.com. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015. "Palestine and Saudi Arabia agree to swap venues for World Cup qualifier". The National (UAE). 8 June 2015. "World Cup 2018: Palestinians and Saudi Arabia at loggerheads over key game". CNN. 29 September 2015. "FIFA statement on the Palestine-Saudi Arabia 2018 FIFA World Cup™ qualifier". FIFA.com. 7 October 2015. "Palestine to play Saudi Arabia and Malaysia on neutral ground". FIFA.com. 4 November 2015. "Amman the venue for Palestine qualifiers". FIFA.com. 5 November 2015. http://www.footballpalestine.com/2016/03/preview-uae-vs-palestine-2018-world-cup.html#more External links Palestine Football Association Palestine on National-Football-Teams.com Palestine at FIFA.com Palestine on Youtube.com Palestine on Blogger Palestine on Twitter Palestine's Match Archive on kooora.com RSSSF Archive of National Team Results from 1953 to 2004