🇵🇸 Oman dash Palestine’s World Cup dream in the cruellest way | OneFootball

Soccer had become a beacon of hope for a country like Palestine. Its team was still keeping alive its dream of playing in a World Cup. A victory over Oman would send the Palestinians to the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers. But soccer had its cruelest face in store for the Palestinian team.

A penalty awarded in stoppage time against them and converted by the Oman team put an end to Palestine's World Cup dream. The Palestinian team, unable to play home games due to the current geopolitical situation, hosted the Oman team in Jordan.

The Palestinian team remained serious in the first half and at the start of the second half came the great outburst of joy. A goal by Kharoub put the Palestinians ahead and unleashed euphoria in the stands of the King Abdullah Stadium. A stadium located in the middle of a Palestinian refugee neighborhood.

Palestine dominated the game and as the minutes went by, the World Cup dream seemed closer. But soccer had its cruelest twist in store for the Palestinian team: the one that changes everything in the last minute of the game.

With time expired, the referee awarded a controversial penalty in the Palestinian team's area in favor of Oman. With the help of VAR, the referee validated the maximum penalty that Issam Al-Shabi converted. Joy for an Oman that will play in the fourth round of World Cup qualifying, devastation for a Palestine that saw its dream shattered.

Who will play in the next Asian round?

Three games will make up this second round of World Cup qualifying. Three games that will pit Oman against the other five teams that will play in this fourth round: Indonesia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Iraq... and Saudi Arabia, which failed to overcome an Australia that secured its World Cup ticket.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

📸 HAITHAM AL-SHUKAIRI - AFP or licensors