Palestine will not qualify for World Cup 2026 after controversial and heartbreaking penalty –
Palestine was on the verge of reaching the next stage in the World Cup 2026 qualification, going further than they’ve ever been. They had to defeat Oman as part of the AFC World Cup qualifiers third round, Group B… and they were winning 1-0, with a goal by Oday Ali Abdulrahim Kharoub. However, Oman scored a goal in the 97th minute, and the draw was enough for Oman, which came to today’s fixture with one more point.
And Oman’s goal… was a penalty given after what looks very noticeably to be a dive for the player, with less than one minute for the final whistle.
Total heartbreak for the Palestine national team (who hasn’t played their home games at Palestine since 2019, instead moving to Jordan), hoping to reach the fourth round in the qualifying process. It was not definitive (six teams, including Oman and Jordan, will now fight for three spots for World Cup), and Palestine has never been in a World Cup, but they came closer than ever this year.
Palestine at World Cup next year would have been a silver lining for the people who are suffering one of the worst humanitarian crisis in history… and a complete bluff for the rest of the world, who are turning a blind eye at the inhuman genocide in Gaza.
