Palestine World Cup Dream Broken: Penalty before the end of the game kills historic advancement

In the early morning of June 11, just a few seconds left before history was created, a 97th minute penalty kick brought the Palestinian World Cup dream to an abrupt end.

In the last round of Group B of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers in Asia, Palestine drew 1-1 with Oman at home, regretfully missing the opportunity to advance to the fourth round of qualifying match. The draw allowed them to rank fifth in the group with 10 points, one less than Oman who successfully advanced.

In this group, South Korea and Jordan directly qualify for the World Cup, while Iraq and Oman will participate in the next round of qualifying.

In this game, Palestine's goal is very clear: you must win to surpass Oman and advance to the next round. They were once infinitely close to their goals during the game.

Shortly after the second half, Ody Harub scored a header, helping the team take the lead. In the first half, Michel Temanini hit the crossbar and Vassam Alli was blown off for offside, which gave fans hope. In the 73rd minute of the game, Omani player Kharib Saadi was sent off the court after turning yellow and red. Palestine, which has the advantage in numbers, seems to be sure to win.

However, the plot takes a dramatic turn in the 7th minute of stoppage time. After a seemingly ordinary free kick attack, VAR intervened to determine that Palestinian defender Ahmed Taha pulled the opponent's jersey in the penalty area, and the referee decisively awarded a penalty. Essam Subi took the penalty and completely shattered his dream of entering the World Cup for the first time in Palestinian history.

When the final whistle sounded, the scene - located at the Jordan King Abdullah II Stadium (the home court cannot be used due to the war in Gaza) - Palestinian players fell to their knees and covered their faces and cried bitterly. They were only a few seconds away from writing history, but they suffered the most cruel blow.

Despite failing to advance, the Palestinian team's performance is respectable enough. This is their first time to reach the third stage of the World Cup qualifiers, and he has reached the top 16 in the previous Asian Cup 2023. Against the backdrop of the motherland being deeply trapped in the quagmire of war, this national team has become a spiritual symbol of the entire nation.

Their persistence and hard work have long surpassed the meaning of football itself.

With this draw, Oman successfully advanced to the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers, competing for two places to directly advance to the World Cup with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq and Indonesia (lost to Japan 0-6). The third place will also have the opportunity to compete for World Cup tickets through the Intercontinental Playoffs.

At the same time, in another game, Australia defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 away, winning the last place in Asia to directly advance to the World Cup. At this point, all six teams representing Asia in the 2026 World Cup have been confirmed: Japan, South Korea, Iran, Uzbekistan, Jordan and Australia. Among them, Uzbekistan and Jordan both made their debut on the World Cup stage.

7m cn