Palestine opened the group stage of 2026 World Cup qualifying with a remarkable goalless draw against South Korea in Seoul.

Palestine held South Korea to a well-deserved, if surprising, 0-0 draw in their opening match of Group C of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

The remarkable result in Seoul marks a further improvement in Palestinian football, which reached its peak earlier this year with the country’s first qualification for the knockout stages of the AFC Cup at the tournament held in Qatar.

Palestine’s participation in the group stage of the World Cup qualification is also a first, but hopes of a match against the AFC’s record qualifier with eleven participations in the major global football event were rather slim.

South Korea boasted a star-studded side, including striker Son Heung-min, captain of Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League, but was unable to break through the Palestinian defence.

Palestine overcomes many obstacles to keep South Korea

Palestine’s chances were also poor considering that South Korea had not lost a qualifying match at home since 2013 and the hosts are ranked 14th in the FIFA world rankings. The Lions of Canaan, on the other hand, are ranked 96th.

Despite these hurdles, Palestine appeared to have broken the deadlock in the 22nd minute, but the attempt was correctly ruled offside.

Hong Myung-bo is the hosts’ fourth coach this year and his side struggled to get their talisman and captain Son into the game while the defence looked shaky.

Their best chance in an evenly matched first half fell to Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in, but Palestinian goalkeeper Rami Hamadeh was equal to the score with a fine shot from close range.

Hamadeh was tested again by Lee in the 74th minute when he tipped a free-kick over the bar, shortly after the South Korean had wasted another good opportunity and shot wide.

Oday Dabbagh went close to scoring on a counterattack for Palestine, whose legs were getting tired, before Son hit the outside of the post in the dying minutes.

How Palestine can secure a place at the 2026 World Cup

After the second round of the preliminary round with knockout matches, the 18 remaining teams in the region now form the group stage of the AFC qualification.

Besides South Korea, Iraq and Jordan are the other two clear favorites for the two direct qualification places for the World Cup in Group C. Palestine, Oman and Kuwait are considered clear outsiders in the fight for the top spots.

In addition to the two teams that automatically qualify from the group stage, six teams, consisting of the best third and fourth placed teams from the three groups, will qualify for a further phase with two groups. The three teams from each group will play each other once at a neutral venue. The best two teams will qualify for the World Cup.

The second-placed teams will compete against each other in a playoff for a place in the intercontinental playoffs for the remaining World Cup places.

Palestine, on the other hand, plays its home games abroad, mostly in the Middle East, because of the Gaza war. The local league has been suspended and many players are without a club.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held in Canada, Mexico and the USA, with the final itself taking place in the USA.