Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Amman: Ahmad Abu Nahyeh scored a hat-trick as Palestine beat Malaysia 6-0 for the second time in their FIFA World Cup 2018/AFC Asian Cup 2019 Group A qualifying campaign at the Amman International Stadium on Thursday.
The Palestinians, who had defeated Malaysia by the same score-line in June, led Ong Kim Swee’s side 3-0 at the break before adding three more including a stoppage time goal to clinch their second win from six games.
Palestine took the lead on 37 minutes when Alexis Norambuena's cross was headed down to the feet of Jonathan Zorrilla, who picked out the bottom left corner through a crowded box.
A poor backpass and hesitant defending from Razman Roslan then saw Ahmad Abu Nahyeh skip clear and calmly flick the ball over the on-rushing keeper to transform the balance of the game in little over 60 seconds.
The hosts duly went 3-0 up on the stroke of half-time, Abu Nahyeh volleying home following a corner.
Malaysia started sharper in the second half but the improvement counted for nothing as Abu Nahyeh completed his hat-trick on 58 minutes. The striker ghosted into the six-yard box to score after a lovely cushioned pass by Nu'man.
A long ball over the top then found Sameh Maraaba racing clear of the Malaysian backline and although his effort was well charged down by Malaysia keeper Khairul Che Mat, Tamer Sayem was on hand to notch Palestine’s fifth from the rebound on 88 minutes.
Nu'man's cross was later headed only as far out as Jaka Ihbeisheh, whose volley saw Palestine register their sixth and final goal of the game.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.
Photo: AFP