Palestine finished as group winners and are through to the quarter-finals of the FIFA Arab Cup for the first time in their history.
Doha, Qatar: Rami Hamada knew that the odds were stacked against Palestine. Sitting well outside the top ten nations heading to the FIFA Arab Cup on the FIFA World Ranking, the Lions of Canaan were forced to navigate the qualification phase just to join the main table.
There they were pushed all the way to penalties by Libya in a match that Hamada, the team’s goalkeeper and occasional captain, starred in. Off the back of a pre-tournament camp in Spain where the team’s belief began to take root, the dramatic nature of the play-off victory saw it blossom.
Having grabbed a 95th minute winner against hosts Qatar first up in the group stage and then rallying from two goals down to draw 2-2 with 2021 runners-up Tunisia, the belief was exploding.
A scoreless draw against Syria in the section settler means that the Lions of Canaan finished, remarkably, as group winners and are through to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history. As Hamada told FIFA post-match, there is now no limit to the extent of their dreams at the regional showpiece. “First of all this is like a dream, until now we have been living the dream and we need that dream to continue.
“I didn’t want to wait for anyone to give us a chance so we had to show everything on the field. Before we didn’t talk, we were like a small team but now we have showed with our actions that we are a big team.”
Having come within a couple of minutes of reaching the decisive fourth round of qualification for the FIFA World Cup and with a ticket to the next edition of the Asian Cup already secured, there has been real positivity building around Palestinian football in recent years.
Translating that positivity into performance and results was the target of the side ahead of the Arab Cup and Hamada is thrilled that they’ve been able to do that.
“It’s amazing to think that we have finished as the top team in the group and now we just continue to look ahead, to go step-by-step.
“I’m just so proud and praise must go to God for everything. God gave us something like this and it means so much to us. We see our people happy now. After everything we have lived through we are so proud.”
Those are thoughts echoed by defender Yaser Hamed, who told FIFA post-match that delivering joy to the Palestinian people is the team’s main motivation.
“We achieved something special and unique for Palestine and this is for all the Palestinians who have been suffering in the last few years, especially in Gaza.
“It doesn’t matter who we face after this because we will keep trying to win. Playing for this flag and this country is so special and in 90 minutes we can beat anyone. For sure our target is to win the Arab Cup and continue to make our people happy.”
Another who has been revelling in the unexpected progression to the quarter-finals, where one of Saudi Arabia, Morocco or Oman await, is right-back Emilio Saba. The 24-year-old is in camp with the national team for the first time and is, to continue the theme, living a dream that he doesn’t want to end.
“It just feels so amazing to be part of this group and to make history with Palestine. We have been together for one month, firstly in Spain and now here, to prepare.”
The next challenge for the Lions of Canaan will come in the last eight, with that match to be played on Thursday in Lusail. (FIFA)
