Palestine stun Iraq with dramatic late win to keep World Cup dream alive | Football

Palestine secured the most dramatic of late victories over Iraq on Tuesday night to keep their unlikely World Cup dream alive.

The match at the Amman International Stadium in Jordan looked set to be won by Iraq as Aymen Hussein’s first-half goal still had them ahead as the clocked ticked towards 90 minutes.

Then came a late equaliser from Wessam Abou Ali for the Palestinians on 88 minutes and an even later winner.

Defender Amid Mahajna outmuscled his marker from a corner and powered a header past the goalkeeper deep into injury time.

The goal went down as a 97th-minute winner and secured a hugely dramatic victory for Ehab Abu Jazar’s team.

It was the first win of the current round of AFC World Cup qualifying for Palestine, but their hopes of qualification are still alive.

Three draws and this one victory in eight matches means they are still in contention for a top four finish in Group B.

The top two nations from the remaining six groups make it to World Cup 2026 automatically, while the third and fourth place teams head into a play-off.

Palestine are fifth with two games to play, those remaining matches come in June against Kuwait and Oman.

Kuwait sit bottom of Group B with Oman holding onto fourth place, which the Palestinians are trying to get hold of.

The win on Tuesday night is Palestine’s first for almost exactly a year, when they beat Bangladesh 1-0 on March 26, 2024.

Back-to-back wins over Bangladesh and two draws with Lebanon got Palestine through the previous group to book their spot in this third round of qualifying.

Two teams have already guaranteed their spot at the 2026 World Cup through AFC qualifying, with Iran coming through Group A and Japan from Group C.

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