Palestine, Syria reach 2025 FIFA Arab Cup Quarter Finals
Palestine and Syria have reached the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup Quarter Finals knocking out Asian Champions Qatar and 2021 Runners up Tunisia in an extraordinary display of sports skills and performance
Doha: Palestine and Syria have reached the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup Quarter Finals knocking out Asian Champions Qatar and 2021 Runners up Tunisia in an extraordinary display of sports skill.
Playing their last group match at Education City Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Palestine and Syria both ravaged by years of war and conflict Sunday ended the fixture in a draw.
With the Syria vs Palestine match ending in a draw both the teams finished with 5 points in Group A of FIFA Arab Cup.
On Sunday Qatar played against Tunisia and needed a big win to qualify for the Quarter Finals. The match played at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar ended 3-0 in Tunisia’s favour. But despite the win, both teams were eliminated from the tournament.
Palestine Football Team at Arab World Cup
AFC Asian Cup Champions 2023 Qatar’s chances in the FIFA Arab Cup 2025 diminished in the Arab World Cup Inaugural when it was stunningly defeated by Palestine 1-0.
Qatar never recovered from this defeat.
On the other hand, the Palestinian footballers again showed their extraordinary performance when they drew their match against Tunisia after conceding two goals.
The draw was a dramatic affair, with Tunisia dominating early but Palestine mounting a resilient comeback in the second half.
Earlier, Tunisia took a commanding 2–0 lead but couldn't hold on, allowing Palestine to equalize late and extend their unbeaten run in the tournament.
Palestinians Celebrate with Syrian Flags
The performance of Palestine national football team at 2025 Arab World Cup is astonishing as it has lost as many as 437 footballers in the ongoing Gaza war with Israel.
The entire sports infrastructure has also been completely damaged in the wake of Israeli bombing. Despite this, the Fidai, as the Palestine soccer team is known as, defeated Asia Champion Qatar and drew their match against African heroes Tunisia.
In another show of solidarity both Syrian and Palestinian teams, along with their supporters, were seen celebrating Sunday together.
The Palestinian team brought out their flags, keffiyehs and loudest roars as they celebrated in tandem with their vociferous supporters.
Syria’s players were equally emotional as they jumped around in joy and disbelief.
Several Palestinian players, including Gaza-born defender Mohammed Saleh, waved both Palestinian and Syrian flags as the celebrations carried on well past full time.
The results and their impact on the tournament’s next round are shocking, not only because both Palestine and Syria are reeling from the effects of war, but also due to the gulf in the teams’ standings in world football.
Palestine are 96th in FIFA’s team rankings, 45 places behind Qatar, while Syria are placed at 87. Tunisia, the sixth-best team in Africa, are ranked 40th in the world.
Qatar are among the six Arab teams to have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, and Tunisia are among the nine African nations in the finals.
Neither Palestine nor Syria have ever qualified for football’s showpiece event, but for now, their fans will not care as their teams march on in the Arab Cup.
2025 FIFA Arab World Cup: Overview
FIFA Arab World Cup comprises 16 teams. In another groups, Saudi Arabia topped Group B and qualified for the Quarter Final with Morocco.
In Group C, Jordan and Egypt are set to finish for the last eight whereas in Group D, Iraq and Algeria are on top in the FIFA Arab Cup Standings.
The Arab World Cup 2025 started in Qatar on December 01, 2025 and will continue till December 18, 2025.
The Quarter-Finals of the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup are scheduled for a single day on December 11, 2025.
All the four QF Matches will be played across Qatar's World Cup venues: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium (Al Rayyan), Al Bayt Stadium (Al Khor), Education City Stadium (Al Rayyan), and Khalifa International Stadium (Doha).
The Semi-Finals of the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup are also set for a single day, with both matches at Al Bayt Stadium on December 15, 2025.
The Final of the tournament will be played at Lusail Stadium in Lusail—the same venue that hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final on Thursday December 18, 2025.
[Zohair Mohammed Safwan Faizee is Staff Writer at ummid.com]
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