Lebanon vs Palestine Match Analysis & Prediction
16/11/2023 5:00 pm
Lebanon and Palestine will both be looking to kick off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaigns with a victory when they meet in Group I on Thursday at Khalid Bin Mohammed Stadium, which is a neutral venue for safety purposes.
Considering the current political climate in the Middle East, this qualifying match is unlikely to attract much attention from fans of Lebanon and Palestine, especially with the World Cup so far on the horizon.
However, with the 2026 edition in North America set to be expended to 48 teams, Asia will benefit from having eight guaranteed slots up for grabs, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the next stage of qualifying.
As such, the Cedarswill fancy their chances of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in the nation’s history, especially having achieved this at the most recent Asian Cup in 2019.
Lebanon are embarking on a new era under Nikola Jurcevic, who was appointed as their manager last month. The former Azerbaijan boss has not started as well as he would have liked, with his side suffering defeats to Montenegro and UAE in friendlies last month.
That said, they remained competitive in terms of only losing 3-2 and 2-1 respectively, suggesting they have every chance of beginning their qualifying campaign with a win against their neighbours and allies on Thursday.
Any Palestinian loyalties to Lebanon due to off-field support will have to go out of the window once the referee’s whistle is blown in Sharjah on Thursday.
Since becoming an officially recognised FIFA member in 1998, Palestine have failed to qualify for a World Cup, but they have improved in recent years to finish third in their group in 2018 and 2022.
This development has been clear for all to see given that they will compete at their third consecutive Asian Cup in Qatar in the New Year, but they missed out on their first appearance at the knockout stages of Asia’s major tournament when drawing two and losing one of their group matches in 2019.
However, recent turmoil in terms of the ongoing war between Palestine and Israel may have had a negative impact on results, with Makram Daboub’s side losing three consecutive games ahead of their fixture against Lebanon.
Lebanon vs. Palestine Head to head
In the four previous meetings between these two teams, Palestine have claimed one victory while they have drawn in three.
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11/12/2012Lebanon0Palestine1WAFF Championship
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31/08/2015Lebanon0Palestine0Friendlies
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10/11/2016Lebanon1Palestine1Friendlies
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05/08/2019Lebanon0Palestine0WAFF Championship
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16/11/2023LebanonN/APalestineN/AAFC World Cup Qualifiers
Lebanon Team News
Lebanon will be led by their all-time record appearance holder and goalscorer Hassan Maatouk, with the 36-year-old hoping to add to his 112 caps and 23 goals since making his debut in 2006.
Intrestingly, all bar three of Jurcevic’s squad compete domestically in the Lebanese Premier League, with two playing in Indonesia and one in Malaysia.
Lebanon's Last 5 Matches
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01/07/2023Lebanon0India0(P)SAFF Championship
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07/09/2023Thailand2Lebanon1King's Cup
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10/09/2023Lebanon1India0King's Cup
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12/10/2023Montenegro3Lebanon2Friendlies
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17/10/2023UAE2Lebanon1Friendlies
Palestine Team News
Palestine will be confident of causing their hosts plenty of problems considring that Jonathan Cantillana, Tamer Seyam and Oday Dabbagh are all in double figures in terms of goals scored for their country.
Abdelhadi Yassin, Amid Mahajna and Alaa Aldeen Hassan have held onto their spots despite plying their trade in the Isreali Premier League.
Palestine's Last 5 Matches
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25/03/2023Bahrain1Palestine2Friendlies
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14/06/2023Indonesia0Palestine0Friendlies
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20/06/2023China PR2Palestine0Friendlies
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06/09/2023Oman2Palestine1Friendlies
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11/09/2023Vietnam2Palestine0Friendlies
Lebanon vs. Palestine: Odds and Predictions
Main Prediction
Double Chance: Lebanon or X
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