Palestine returned with a valuable point against the South Korean team, the best Asian achievement in the World Cup (fourth in the 2002 edition), after a goalless draw with the “Taeguk Warriors” in Seoul in Group Two.
In its first participation in the third round, Palestine, ranked 96th in the world, did not submit to the host, ranked 23rd. Palestine will play its next match against Jordan on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, which it has adopted as its home ground in light of the ongoing war in Gaza, the suspension of the local league, and the fact that some of the Palestinian national team players are not currently affiliated with clubs.
The visiting team thought they had scored in front of 66,000 fans at the World Cup stadium, but Tamer Seyam’s goal was ruled out for offside midway through the first half.
Palestine players looked tired in the second half, and were content with counterattacks. Lee Kang-in wasted a golden opportunity, and then the brilliant goalkeeper Rami Hamadeh denied him again from scoring from a free kick in the 74th minute.
Adi Al-Dabbagh was close to creating a shocking Palestinian goal for the fans, but his pass to Wissam Abu Ali in a one-on-one situation was saved by goalkeeper Jo Hyun-woo (90+2), and the players of Tunisian coach Makram Daboub maintained the tie until the final whistle of the second group match.
The 18 teams that qualified from the second round were divided into three groups, with the champion and runner-up qualifying after ten rounds extending until June 2025. Two other seats are available in the fourth round for the six teams that occupy third and fourth places, with the possibility of the qualifiers reaching nine via a global play-off.
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