PERTH, Australia: Mohammed Rashid once worked as a forklift driver in a Chicago warehouse.
Fast forward to these grim times and Rashid, along with his Palestinian soccer teammates, carry a heavier weight knowing success on the field offers a little respite from the war raging in Gaza.
Amid the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, now in its eighth month, an inspired Palestinian squad have produced a stirring run to reach the third round in Asia of World Cup qualifying for the first time.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Rashid said in Perth on Monday, on the eve of his team’s last second-round game against Australia. “We’re here for one cause and one goal.
“Whoever is on the team has to perform. There is no other way to it.”
The Palestinian team, 93rd in the world rankings, have never come close to reaching the World Cup via the Asian Football Confederation’s qualifying route. With the 2026 World Cup expanding to 48 teams, and Asia’s automatic qualification allocation doubling to eight, there’s a better chance to make history.
The Palestinians play Australia at HBF Park on Tuesday to complete the Asian second round. Both teams are safely through to September’s next stage.
“Of course, it’s (World Cup) a big dream,” Rashid said. “Everything is possible. There’s a lot of hard work that needs to be done before we get there.”
Team officials discourage politically charged questions at news conferences. But the players are willing to publicly engage in conversations about the devastation in Gaza. More than 36,700 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its counts. The war was sparked after Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage.
Playing “gives the chance to raise the name of Palestine to the whole world, and the World Cup is the biggest platform for this,” said Rashid, a defensive midfielder. “What’s happening right now is affecting all of us. You can’t help but be affected by it.”
Rashid was on a college soccer scholarship in Illinois from 2013-17 before signing with the Palestinian Premier League one year later.
More than 140 of the United Nations’ 193 members have recognized Palestinian statehood, and the Palestine Football Association became a full member of FIFA in 1998.
The team affectionately known as Al Fida’i (The Warriors) had only moderate success at the continental level until recently. With a disciplined style of play, mirroring the resolve of the players, the Palestinian team have conceded only one goal in five matches in this qualifying cycle.
It’s been a remarkable effort given the team haven’t played on home soil since 2019, having been forced to host matches in Kuwait and Qatar. Players have had to flee for safety and seek overseas leagues.
Rashid, who plays club soccer for Bali United in Indonesia,” said for his team the hardest part of competing in international competition was not being able to play at home.
“The last time we played Saudi Arabia at home, it was a full house. People were climbing trees to watch the game,” he said. “We’ve had 28 games away, which is rough. But we’re always playing for our people.”
The team’s mere existence is seen by some as a political statement. The Palestinian football association president, Jibril Rajoub, was denied an entry visa for Australia. Rajoub is also a politician and heads the Palestinian Olympic committee.
The visa issue surfaced on the weekend when the team arrived in Perth. By Monday, Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was questioned about it in Canberra, the capital.
“These decisions are made at arm’s length by the bodies, by the immigration department,” Albanese said.
Rashid and his teammates are hoping to put that setback aside and continue to offer inspiration for Palestinians.
“When it comes to (soccer), you try to get your head out of it,” he said. The soccer team’s international matches “is the only thing they (Palestinians) are watching. The only thing giving them hope.
“For us this is a big motivation.”
Palestinian players continue push for World Cup qualification amid war back home
https://arab.news/rbm96
Palestinian players continue push for World Cup qualification amid war back home
- The Palestinian team, 93rd in the world rankings, have never come close to reaching the World Cup via the Asian Football Confederation’s qualifying route
- With the 2026 World Cup expanding to 48 teams, and Asia’s automatic qualification allocation doubling to eight, there’s a better chance to make history
Ronaldo renews Al-Nassr contract until 2027
- Ronaldo has scored 93 goals in 105 appearances for the club
RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a two-year contract extension with Al-Nassr, the Saudi Pro League side announced on Thursday, which will keep the Portuguese forward at the club well past his 42nd birthday.
Ronaldo, who joined the club in 2022 after leaving Manchester United to become a free agent, has scored 93 goals in 105 appearances for the club in all competitions.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is staying at @AlNassrFC until 2027,” the club wrote in a post on X.
Mbappe files harassment complaint against PSG and judicial officials are investigating
- The Real Madrid star is at odds with his former club, arguing PSG owes him $61 million in unpaid wages
- Mbappe stunned PSG in June 2023 by informing the club he would not take the option for an extra year
PARIS: Kylian Mbappe has accused Paris Saint-Germain of moral harassment in a legal filing, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed on Thursday.
The Real Madrid star is at odds with his former club, arguing PSG owes him €55 million ($61 million) in unpaid wages.
Mbappe is also unhappy with the way he was treated by the Ligue 1 club when the France captain was sidelined before the 2023-24 season, following his decision not to extend his club contract.
The prosecutor’s office said Mbappe is “denouncing the ‘lofting’ he claimed to have been subjected to at Paris Saint-Germain.” The word lofting is used in France to describe a practice that involves isolating a player from the main squad for sporting, administrative, or disciplinary reasons.
Mbappe joined Real Madrid last summer on a free transfer after scoring a club-record 256 goals in seven years at PSG, which won the Champions League without him this year.
Mbappe’s relationship with PSG ended amid deep tensions, and some fans booed him in his last home game at Parc des Princes. PSG felt let down by Mbappe after offering him the most lucrative contract in club history when he signed a new contract in 2022.
But Mbappe was frustrated because he felt promises to sign key players were not kept. When he signed that deal, he was paraded in front of fans holding up a jersey with 2025 on it. Mbappe was reportedly annoyed because the contract was until 2024 — with a player’s option for an extra season.
Mbappe stunned PSG in June 2023 by informing the club he would not take the option for an extra year. With his contract effectively into its final year, it put PSG in the position of needing to sell Mbappe to avoid losing him for nothing when the contract expired.
His PSG career could have ended that summer amid a tense transfer standoff.
After telling the club he would not extend, Mbappe was left off a preseason tour to Japan and South Korea and forced to train with fringe players. PSG said it would rather sell him than let the player leave for free in 2024, but he rejected a €300 million move to Saudi Arabia team Al-Hilal.
PSG left Mbappe out of the opening league game of that season but he soon returned to the lineup following talks.
Mbappe’s legal team said in April it would start an action against PSG for harassment because of the way he was treated at the time.
Delap makes his mark as Premier League clubs’ hunt for strikers hots up
- Chelsea’s new signing from Ipswich scored his first goal for the club against ES Tunis at FIFA World Cup
- Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United among clubs looking to strengthen their attacks with new strikers
DUBAI: It was third time lucky for Chelsea’s new striker Liam Delap — who arrived from Ipswich Town earlier this month — when he opened his account on Wednesday for the Blues in their 3-0 win over ES Tunis at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Following last Friday’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of Flamengo, Enzo Maresca’s team required a victory for a place in the knockout stages of a competition they won in 2022.
The result never looked in doubt once defender Tosin Adarabioyo had given them the lead with a well-taken header.
The advantage was doubled moments later as Delap scored his first Chelsea goal, collecting a pass from Enzo Fernandez before holding off one challenge, evading another and dispatching a low drive into the bottom corner.
It was brilliant center-forward play, combining strength, skill and a killer instinct in front of goal. For any striker, their first goal at a new club, regardless of the competition or opposition, is an important milestone.
It settles early nerves, eliminates any negative outside noise and helps to build a positive relationship with the fans, who enjoy nothing more than watching a new forward showcase his goalscoring capabilities.
Delap, who confidently took the Chelsea No. 9 shirt after signing, had shown encouraging signs during his first two performances at the tournament.
In their opening fixture, a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC, the 22-year-old came off the bench and made an instant impact, providing a superb cross which was converted by Fernandez to put the game to bed.
He was then handed his first start against Flamengo and proved a handful for opposition defenders prior to his withdrawal shortly after the hour mark with his replacement, Nicolas Jackson, shown a red card for a reckless challenge just four minutes after coming on.
With Jackson’s one-match ban extended to two following a FIFA disciplinary committee review, Delap is likely to start once again when Chelsea face Benfica in the round of 16 on Saturday, providing the youngster with another opportunity to stake his claim.
It is a summer transfer market in which many of the Premier League’s biggest sides are on the hunt for strikers, and Chelsea appear to have stolen a march on their rivals.
Had Arsenal invested in a proven goalscorer in the last couple of years, they could easily have won a title under Mikel Arteta’s stewardship. The fact he was forced to use midfielder Mikel Merino as a makeshift striker during last season’s run-in spoke volumes, and so the search goes on.
Manchester United are yet to reap the rewards of their investment in Rasmus Hojlund who has struggled since moving to Old Trafford in 2023.
The recent signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the probable arrival of Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, suggest Ruben Amorim is far from satisfied with the output of his current attackers.
Yet while both players are undoubtedly strong additions who will elevate the United forward line, they are not traditional center forwards.
Premier League champions Liverpool, who are certainly not short of attacking options, are also thought to be hunting for a striker, with rumors of an audacious bid for Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak continuing to persist.
That particular deal will be a difficult one to pull off, but Arne Slot clearly views the position as an area which needs strengthening, particularly if Darwin Nunez departs.
Of the strikers available on the market, many of the headlines have focused on Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko. While both players are clearly talented, any transfers would naturally involve a huge financial outlay, which many clubs are now wary of given the implications of the Profit and Sustainability Rules.
For Chelsea, the signing of Delap makes perfect sense. As well as being young and hungry, he boasts Premier League experience having scored 12 goals for relegated Ipswich last season.
Additionally, the fact he has played under Maresca, and alongside Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia, in Manchester City’s academy, ensures he should quickly adapt to the team’s playing style.
Under the Clearlake ownership model, Chelsea have been widely criticized for spending huge sums of money on players who have failed to justify their price tags, with a few notable exceptions.
The acquisition of Delap for $41 million, however, might just prove to be the club’s smartest business move yet.
Borussia Dortmund defeat Ulsan HD 1-0 to win Group F
- With the victory, as well as a draw by Fluminense, Dortmund (2-0-1, 7 points) claims the top spot in Group F to earn a July 1 matchup in the Club World Cup’s round of 16 in Atlanta
A 36th-minute goal from Daniel Svensson was all Borussia Dortmund needed to put away winless Ulsan HD in a 1-0 Group F win in Cincinnati on Wednesday.
With the victory, as well as a draw by Fluminense, Dortmund (2-0-1, 7 points) claims the top spot in Group F to earn a July 1 matchup in the Club World Cup’s round of 16 in Atlanta with an opponent that has yet to be determined. Fluminsense, which could have won the group with a victory over Mamelodi Sundowns, also moves on to the knockouts as the group’s No. 2 seed.
While the score indicates a close match, Dortmund dominated the pitch, putting 11 shots on goal among their 28 overall attempts. Compare that with Ulsan’s three shot attempts, all on goal and all occurring within a 16-minute period in the second half.
Dortmund put the pressure on early and often to open the match, ripping off 20 shots — eight on goal — in the first half. While Ulsan didn’t even get a shot off during the first 45 minutes plus stoppage time, goalkeeper Jo Hyeon- woo continued to deny Dortmund with seven saves.
That included a seven-minute stretch midway through the first half during which BVB put four shots on goal, only for Hyeon-woo to turn away each attempt.
Dortmund did not relent, however, and it paid off in the 36th minute as Svensson collected a touch pass from Jobe Bellingham in the box and put a left-footed shot past the keeper to put BVB in front 1-0.
Both Serhou Guirassy and Bellingham had prime chances to add to that advantage in the closing minutes of the half. Again, though, Hyeon-woo stood his ground to keep Dortmund from extending its lead.
Ulsan strung together their first strong chances at goal early in the second half. In the 48th minute, Kang Sang-Woo’s attempt from the right side of the box was saved by BVB’s Gregor Kobel. The goalkeeper was tested again in the 60th and 64th minutes as Kobel saved left-footed blasts by Lee Jin-Hyun and Ko Seung-Beom, respectively, to maintain the one-goal edge.
That was all that Ulsan (0-3-0, 0 points) could muster, however, as the South Korean side wrapped up Club World Cup play last in Group F. Hyeon-woo finished the day with 10 saves.
Mbappe returns to Real Madrid training at Club World Cup
- The French superstar was taken to hospital last Thursday
- Alonso said: “He is doing better, he is recovering“
PHILADELPHIA: Kylian Mbappe returned to training on Wednesday after missing Real Madrid’s first two matches at the Club World Cup in the United States due to illness, the Spanish giants confirmed to AFP.
The French superstar was taken to hospital last Thursday for tests and treatment after suffering gastroenteritis, before later being released.
He played no part in Real’s opening game at the tournament, a 1-1 draw with Saudi side Al-Hilal in Miami, or the 3-1 defeat of Mexico’s Pachuca at the weekend.
Coach Xabi Alonso did indicate after the latter game that Mbappe was on the mend, saying: “He is doing better, he is recovering.”
Real posted images of Mbappe in training on Wednesday on their website, as the squad worked out at their Florida base before traveling north in the afternoon to Philadelphia.
That is where Madrid will take on Red Bull Salzburg of Austria on Thursday in their last Group H match and will be looking for a victory which will confirm their progress to the last 16 in first place in the section.
A draw can also take them through to the next round, with Manchester City and Juventus the possible opponents in the last 16.
Mbappe has scored 43 goals in 56 appearances since joining Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain
last year.
His last game was for France in a 2-0 win away to Germany in the UEFA Nations League on June 8.
