After advancing further than ever in World Cup qualifying, the Palestinian soccer team is determined to host a game for a change.
The football association has proposed playing games in the third stage of its Asian qualification campaign in the West Bank and already has support from a number of its opponents, starting against Jordan on Sept. 10.
The Palestinian team progressed through the second round of continental qualifying for the first time in its history in June but, because of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, staged its ‘home’ games in nearby Kuwait and Qatar.
“Playing at a neutral venue isn’t permanent and was never meant to be so,” Susan Shabali, the PFA’s deputy president, told The Associated Press. “Faisal Al-Husseini is ready to host.”
The 12,500 capacity Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium is situated in the West Bank town of Al Ram. In 2019, it hosted the team’s last competitive home game, a World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia that ended 0-0.
“We hope that all goes well,” Shalabi said, adding that there’d been “no objections” from FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, or the Asian Football Confederation.
Israel launched a major offensive in Gaza in response to an Oct. 7 Hamas attack into southern Israel in which around 1,200 people were killed and another 250 people were abducted.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 38,000, according to health officials in Gaza, who don’t say how many were civilians or militants. The war has caused vast destruction across the territory, displaced most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million — often multiple times — caused widespread hunger and raised fears of famine.
The Palestinian team’s success has been remarkable amid the ongoing war and the fact it has played dozens of games on the road since 2019, and the players have had to move for safety and seek overseas contracts.
While there is little soccer currently being played in the territory, most players in the Palestinian roster belong to clubs in foreign leagues. The most recent roster saw coach Makram Daboub select players based in countries including Sweden, Belgium, Libya, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan.
Mohammed Rashid, who plays club soccer for Bali United in Indonesia, told reporters in Perth last month ahead of the second-round finale against Australia that the hardest part of competing in international competition was not being able to play at home.
On June 27, the Palestinian team, currently ranked No. 95 in the world, was drawn in Group B of the third round which contains South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman and Kuwait.
The top two from each of the three groups of six qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup.
After the opening game in South Korea on Sept. 5, the Palestinians return to West Asia to take on Jordan five days later.
The Jordan Football Association issued a statement this week to “affirm its position in support of the Palestinian Football Association’s right to hold its home matches on its land and among its fans.”
“Jordan is proud to be the first team to face our Palestinian brothers in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Palestinian territory,” the statement said.
The Oman Football Association also said it supported the PFA’s “legitimate right to hold official national team matches in front of its fans on home soil.” Kuwait earlier issued its support.
Palestinian soccer team plans to play World Cup qualifiers in the West Bank
https://arab.news/j2vm8
Palestinian soccer team plans to play World Cup qualifiers in the West Bank
- The football association has proposed playing games in the third stage of its Asian qualification campaign in the West Bank
Saudi U-20 wrestlers scoop 4 medals at Arab Championship in Algeria
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s under-20 wrestling team have secured four medals at the Arab Championship in Algeria.
The team captured three gold and one silver at the event held from July 2 to 5, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.
In the Greco-Roman category, Hassan Al-Harthy and Munthir Jandu both clinched gold in the 60 kg and in 63 kg divisions, respectively.
In the same category, Saud Al-Subaie took gold and Mahmoud Hawsawi silver in the 67 kg and 87 kg divisions, respectively.
The tournament brought together 165 male and female wrestlers from Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Jordan and hosts Algeria.
Tears of joy at New Zealand tennis club as Sun shines at Wimbledon
- A small party broke out in the early hours of Monday morning at the local tennis club as her latest Wimbledon triumph unfolded
WELLINGTON: When qualifier Lulu Sun wept after reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, tears were also being shed on the other side of the world at her tennis club in a small rural town in New Zealand.
Sun, ranked 123rd in the world, cried openly on center court following her stunning 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 fourth-round win over Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, after becoming the first New Zealand woman to reach the last eight at Wimbledon.
Sun, 23, was born in the remote town of Te Anau, near the bottom of New Zealand’s South Island.
A small party broke out in the early hours of Monday morning at the local tennis club as her latest Wimbledon triumph unfolded.
Greg Sheppard, president of Te Anau Tennis Club, said he and around 20 members had been glued to the clubhouse television to witness Sun’s victory.
“It was nerve-racking and very exciting,” Sheppard told AFP.
“When she started crying, we had a few tears in the clubhouse too. It was quite emotional.
“We’re fully pumped for her. It’s unbelievable, something we have never had before. It’ll be great to see Lulu when she is next home.”
Sun is the daughter of a Chinese mother and Croatian father.
After living in Te Anau — a town she describes as having “more sheep and deer than people” — Sun moved with her mother to Shanghai before settling in Switzerland.
Until this year, she was playing under the Swiss flag having played college tennis in the United States.
Sheppard said there was immense pride in seeing Sun play so well, so far away.
“I reckon if you dug a hole, you’d probably come out in Wimbledon. We are right on the other side,” he joked.
The draughtsman said he struggled to get any work done on Monday.
“I got home around 7am and charged my phone up, I’d run out of battery twice. My phone has been ringing red hot,” said Sheppard, who anticipates another sleep-interrupted night when Sun plays Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the last eight on Tuesday.
Sun will be bidding to become only the second New Zealand woman to reach the last four at a Grand Slam, after Belinda Cordwell at the 1989 Australian Open.
“Hopefully it will be closer to the start of the night or at the other end, where we can have a cooked breakfast to go with our next match watching,” said Sheppard, who remembers Sun as a 13-year-old winning games against the club’s top men.
Her most recent appearance at the club, which has around 120 members, was an exhibition in 2018 and they will invite Sun to a tournament in December.
“We’ll be hoping she comes along, shows us a trophy or a medal or two,” said Sheppard.
“I don’t know if we’ll get a hit of tennis out of her, it would be quite cool if we did.”
Pakistan’s Ashab Irfan beats India’s Veer Chotrani to win Kanso Open Squash Championship
- Irfan beats Chotrani 11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 8-11 and 11-8 to win the final in Houston
- Pakistani squash player won Rochester Proam Squash Tournament in April this year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani squash player Ashab Irfan defeated India’s Veer Chotrani in the final of the Kanso Open Squash Championship in Houston recently to claim the title, months after he clinched the Rochester Proam tournament in the US.
Irfan, 20, has had an impressive run in the tournament, beating Mexico’s Jorge Luis Gomez Dominguez 8-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-2 and 11-9 to qualify for the semifinal of the tournament on Friday. He then defeated Canadian Liam Morrison 11-8, 11-6 and 13-11 to qualify for the final.
Meanwhile, Chotrani qualified for the final after beating Mexico’s Alfredo Avila Vergara in the semifinal 11-3, 9-11, 11-7 and 11-7 to qualify for the final of the tournament.
The final between Irfan and Chotrani on Sunday was a close call, with the Pakistani star player prevailing over his Indian opponent after a hard-fought win. Irfan beat Chotrani 11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 8-11 and 11-8 to clinch the trophy.
Irfan could be seen screaming in jubilation after winning the match point, putting his squash racket on the floor as he prostrated on the court amid cheers and claps from the audience.
This is Ashab’s second international squash title this year. The emerging Pakistani talent clinched the Rochester Proam Squash Tournament in April this year after beating Dominguez in the final by a score of 12-10, 11-4, 9-11, and 11-9.
Erdogan says UEFA ban on Turkiye’s Demiral ‘political’
ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said UEFA’s two-game ban on Turkiye defender Merih Demiral for making a ultra-nationalist salute was “political” and overshadowed the championship.
The Turkish leader canceled his visit to Azerbaijan and traveled to Berlin on Saturday to watch the quarter-final at the Olympiastadion in the German capital, which tens of thousands of Turks attended.
The Netherlands came from behind to beat Turkiye 2-1 to reach the Euro 2024 semifinals.
Demiral, who scored twice against Austria, could not play Saturday after UEFA suspended him for two matches after making a controversial salute during celebrations, associated with Turkish right-wing extremist group Grey Wolves.
“To put it bluntly, UEFA’s two-match ban for Merih has cast a serious shadow over the championship,” Erdogan was quoted as telling journalists on a plane from Berlin, the official Anadolu news agency reported.
“This cannot be explained, it is a purely political decision,” he added.
Erdogan however said the decision did not affect the team’s motivation.
“Despite all the negatives... we watched a thrilling game,” Erdogan said.
Turkiye coach Vincenzo Montella said Friday that Demiral’s ban was “unfair.”
Gauff crashes at Wimbledon as Alcaraz, Sinner locked on collision course
LONDON: World number two Coco Gauff was sent crashing out of Wimbledon by American compatriot Emma Navarro on Sunday as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were firmly locked on an All England Club semifinal collision course.
Gauff’s 6-4, 6-3 fourth round defeat means that only two of the top 10 women’s seeds are left in the tournament.
Elsewhere, unheralded Lulu Sun became the first New Zealand woman to reach the last-eight at Wimbledon, while Madison Keys quit her last-16 clash in floods of tears.
Navarro, ranked 19th, reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time with her defeat of US Open champion Gauff.
Gauff, who made the semifinals at the Australian Open and French Open this year, has still to get past the last 16 at Wimbledon, the tournament, where she made her breakthrough as a 15-year-old in 2019.
Her shock defeat followed the unexpected exit of world number one Iga Swiatek in the third round on Saturday.
“I think I played really aggressively. Coco’s an amazing player and I have a ton of respect for her,” said Navarro.
Only fourth-ranked 2022 champion Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini, the world number seven, remain from the top 10 women.
Paolini will be Navarro’s quarter-final opponent.
World number three Alcaraz defeated French 16th seed Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to make the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the ninth time in just 14 appearances.
However, it was another uncomfortable afternoon for the Spaniard, who had needed five sets to see off Frances Tiafoe in the third round.
His erratic performance on Sunday saw him drop serve five times and commit an uncharacteristic 33 unforced errors.
The 21-year-old, bidding to become just the sixth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back, eased through the first set under the Center Court roof before crucially saving four break points in the fifth game of the second.
Humbert stormed back, breaking the champion three times in the third set as Alcaraz went spectacularly off the boil.
But Humbert handed over a service break in the 11th game of the fourth set and Alcaraz took full advantage to quickly seal the tie.
“I will be there, fighting until the last ball,” said Alcaraz, who is chasing a fourth Grand Slam title.
Alcaraz will take on American 12th seed Tommy Paul, who beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.
Over on Court One, top seed Sinner moved into the last-eight with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (11/9) win over American 14th seed Ben Shelton.
Sinner, who won his maiden Slam crown at the Australian Open this year, will face Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev for a place in the semifinals in a rematch of their final in Melbourne.
“It was a tough match, especially the third set. I had to keep saving set points,” said Sinner, a semifinalist in 2023.
Medvedev, also a semifinalist last year, progressed when 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov retired in the first set of their last-16 tie with a knee injury.
Sun made history for New Zealand with a three-set victory over Emma Raducanu, shattering home hopes of ending a 47-year wait for a British women’s champion.
The 23-year-old qualifier, ranked at 123, triumphed 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 over the 2021 US Open winner.
Sun hit 52 winners against Raducanu, who took a medical time-out in the third set to treat problems with her ankle and back.
“It was a great match against Emma. I really dug deep to get the win,” said Sun.
Sun will next face Croatia’s Donna Vekic, the world number 37, who clinched a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 win over Spain’s Paula Badosa on the back of 33 winners.
American 12th seed Keys was just one game away from a third quarter-final at the All England Club before she was forced to quit against Paolini.
After dropping the first set, Keys hit back to level the match at 3-6, 7-6 (8/6).
The 2017 US Open runner-up then raced into a 5-2 lead in the decider when she suffered a left leg injury in the eighth game.
At 5-4, she took a medical time-out, returned with her left leg bandaged but with her movement severely restricted, she wept openly on court before quitting at 5-5.
“I’m very sorry for her, it’s sad,” said French Open runner-up Paolini, who had never won a grass-court match until two weeks ago.
