Rami Hamadi has Palestine's World Cup destiny in his hands

When Round 3 of the 2026 Asian World Cup qualifiers got underway last September, one result stood out: South Korea 0-0 Palestine.

The disparity between the two teams couldn't be greater. Korea, ranked 23rd in the world, against the side ranked 101. The 11-time World Cup qualifiers and two-time champions of Asia against a Palestine team that has never come remotely close to the global finals and whose best finish in continental competition was reaching the last-16 in Qatar last year.

Buoyed by a partisan crowd at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, a home side containing household names, including Tottenham forward Son Heung-min and Paris Saint-Germain defender Lee Kang-in were held.

Keeping them at bay that night behind a resolute rearguard was Rami Hamadi, the Palestinian national team goalkeeper.

Hamadi's preparation for the game was unlike most. Commuting between Jerusalem and Shefa-Amr – a round-trip journey of 300km – Hamadi would start with a morning training session with a goalkeeping coach, followed by a midday rest at his family’s house. In the afternoon, he would train with his boyhood club Ittihad Abna Shefa-Amr.

“It was not easy, but I felt that I had that responsibility to the Palestine national team to be ready.” Hamadi told The National.

Hamadi was again pivotal in the return leg – played in Amman – a 1-1 draw that earned Palestine another valuable point in their World Cup quest.

Palestine sit fifth in Asian qualifying Group B on six points. With only the top two teams qualifying automatically, the team still have a chance to reach the global finals via October’s six-team repechage tournament if they can finish third or fourth.

They face Kuwait and Oman, on Thursday and next Tuesday. Palestine need to win both and hope either Oman drop points against Jordan or for Iraq to lose their two games to advance.

“I think it is better to have that pressure – to play more, to fight more, you know it is your last chance ... And we will fight until the end to make it to the next round,” Hamadi said.

It has been an arduous journey for Palestine to even get to the point where they are in with a shout of qualifying. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the events of October 7, 2023, the national team have not played a home match in five-and-a-half years.

The ongoing war with Israel has shut down the domestic league for almost two entire seasons. The leagues in the West Bank and Gaza were crucial to Palestine’s improvement on the international stage. When Palestine beat Hong Kong 3-0 at last year’s Asian Cup to reach the knockout round for the first time, nine of the starting XI were products of clubs in those leagues, as were four out of the five substitutes.

Hamadi was one of those. The goalkeeper’s journey started in the streets of Shefa-Amr, a town nestled in Northern Galilee, where he learned the game from his older brothers. In 2011, he was called up to Palestine’s U19 team and joined Thaqafi Tulkarem of the West Bank Premier League age 17.

In 2013, Hamadi was called up to the senior national team for the first time. Two years later, he travelled to Australia as the youngest member of the first Palestine squad to compete at the Asian Cup.

After Palestine's run at the 2023 Asian Cup (played in early 2024), Hamadi was without a club, having been let go by Jabal Al Mukaber. The Qatari and Libyan football associations had just granted foreign player exemptions to Palestinian players. Despite being first choice for his country, no offer for Hamadi was forthcoming.

“The pressure was so high, I have a family, a house, and a wife, and my job was stopped, cancelled without a salary,” Hamadi said. “I spoke to a lot of clubs and a lot of agents. I got a lot of promises, but in the end, I got nothing from them. It was hard for me and for my family, but I kept working.”

Eventually, Qatari second-division club Al Markhiya did make Hamadi a short-term offer in January, and he excelled, helping the club to a promotion play-off where they came up just short.

Hamadi, who has 27 clean sheets from his 56 internationals, will hope to showcase his talents on the big stage and help Palestine take a step closer to the impossible dream.