(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Chinthana Wasala
|
The Peninsula
Doha: A brilliant goal by substitute Zeid Qunbar in the third minute of stoppage saw 10-man Palestine level 2-2 with Kuwait in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifier in Doha, yesterday.
The match at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium witnessed Palestine's Camilo Saldana receive a second yellow card in the 55th minute, but Qunbar's strike canceled out Kuwait's lead as the two teams shared points in Group B.
Kuwait sit in fifth place in the group with three points, same as third-placed Oman but trailing on goal difference, while Palestine are at the bottom with two points. South Korea lead with 10 points, followed by Jordan (7) and Iraq (7).
Speaking after the match, Palestine coach Makram Daboub said that his team played well, and deserved more than just a point.
“We played a good match considering its circumstances and course,” Daboub said in a post-match press conference.
“The team performed well, and we deserved a better result than a draw. We were aiming to get full points,” said Daboub.
However, the Tunisian coach noted that the team will now put the setback aside and shift their focus to the upcoming fixture.
“We have an important match ahead of us against Oman, and our chances are still there as we are competing for fourth place,” he said.
“There are still matches remaining to correct mistakes and regain physical fitness,” Daboub added.
In yesterday's tightly contested encounter, both teams pressed hard to take an early lead, but Kuwait were the first to succeed.
They were awarded a spot-kick in the 31st minute after Ameed Mahajneh was brought down by Moaath Al Enezi.
Taking the penalty kick, Yousef Al Sulaiman made no mistake as he calmly beat the Palestine custodian Rami Hamada to make it 1-0 in Kuwait's favour.
Ten minutes later, Palestine also had an opportunity to score through a spot kick after Ahmad Al Dhefiri brought down Wessam Abou Ali.
Ali did not waste the chance and leveled the scores at one-all before the halftime break.
After Saldana was sent off, Kuwait capitalised on their advantage to go ahead in the 80th minute when Al Sulaiman netted his second goal of the day, following a Sami Al Sanea cross.
Juan Antonio Pizzi-coached Kuwaitis seemed to be heading for a win, but Qunbar equalised in the third added minute to earn Palestine a share of the points.
Next up, Palestine meet Oman on November 14, while Kuwait host table-toppers South Korea on the same day.
MENAFN16102024000063011010ID1108787546
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.