Palestine participated in their maiden AFC Asian Cup, the 2015 tournament, held in Australia. It was the first time Palestine qualified for the Asian Cup and in a major tournament, and this performance has been accredited for the rise of Palestine in the international arena, and the team is widely seen as the symbol of unity for Palestinians amidst the conflict between Hamas and Fatah over control of Palestinian Authority.[1] Their second competition appearance came in 2019. Palestine qualified for the Asian Cup for the third consecutive time in 2023. It was the first ever time that Palestine qualified for the knockout round of the Asian Cup bringing hope to Palestinians amidst the Israel-Hamas War.[2]
| AFC Asian Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | |
 1956to 1996 |
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
 2000 |
Did not qualify | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ||||||||
 2004
|
6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 11 | |||||||||
    2007
|
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | |||||||||
 2011
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
 2015 |
Group stage | 16th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 7 | |
| 2019 |
Group stage | 17th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 49 | 8 | |
| 2023 |
Round of 16 | 14th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 10 | |
 2027 |
Qualified | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | ||||||||
| Total | Round of 16 | 4/19 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 84 | 52 | |
| AFC Asian Cup History | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Score | Result |
| 2015 | |||
| Round 1 |  Palestine 0 – 4  Japan |
Loss | |
| Round 1 | Palestine 1 – 5  Jordan |
Loss | |
| Round 1 | Palestine 0 – 2  Iraq |
Loss | |
| 2019 | |||
| Round 1 | Palestine 0 – 0  Syria |
Draw | |
| Round 1 | Palestine 0 – 3 Australia |
Loss | |
| Round 1 | Palestine 0 – 0 Jordan |
Draw | |
| 2023 | |||
| Round 1 | Palestine 1 – 4  Iran |
Loss | |
| Round 1 | Palestine 1 – 1 United Arab Emirates |
Draw | |
| Round 1 | Palestine 3 – 0  Hong Kong |
Win | |
| Round of 16 | Palestine 1 – 2 Qatar |
Loss | |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Iraq
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 | Jordan
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Palestine
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 0 |
| 12 January 2015 | |||
| Japan |
4–0 | Palestine |
Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle |
| 16 January 2015 | |||
| Palestine |
1–5 | Jordan |
AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 20 January 2015 | |||
| Iraq |
2–0 | Palestine |
Canberra Stadium, Canberra |
Palestine's maiden Asian Cup debut occurred in 2015 when they were grouped with Japan, Iraq and Jordan, and thus it was a significant moment for the Palestinian team. Their opening match was against reigning champions Japan which ended in a 0-4 loss. Palestine suffered another loss in their next match, 1–5 to Jordan, in which Jaka Ihbeisheh scored their first ever goal in the Asian Cup. Palestine ended their campaign by a 0–2 defeat to Iraq, thus ended last with zero point.
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Australia
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | |
| 3 | Palestine
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 2 | |
| 4 | Syria
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 |
| Syria | 0–0 | Palestine |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Attendance: 8,471
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
| Palestine | 0–3 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
 20' 90' |
Attendance: 11,915
Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)
| Palestine | 0–0 | Jordan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Attendance: 20,843
Referee: Mohanad Qassim (Iraq)
Palestine made their second appearance in the tournament, having been drawn with two Levant rivals, Syria and Jordan, as well as for the second time in a row against defending champions, Australia. Palestine, in this tournament, had successfully achieved two points for the first time, with two draws against Syria and Jordan, both ending 0–0. However, their encounter against Australia ended with a 0–3 defeat, which meant that Palestine obtained two points and finished without a goal scored in the tournament. They were eliminated from the tournament as they did not have enough points to qualify as a third-placed team.
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Palestine
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Hong Kong
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 |
| Iran | 4–1 | Palestine |
|---|---|---|
12' 38' 55' |
Report |
|
Attendance: 27,691
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
| Palestine | 1–1 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Nasser 50' (o.g.) |
Report | Adil 23' |
Attendance: 41,986
Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)
| Hong Kong | 0–3 | Palestine |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
48' |
Attendance: 6,568
Referee: Shaun Evans (Australia)
| Pos | Grp | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E | Jordan
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | C | Palestine
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | B | Syria
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | D | Indonesia
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | |
| 5 | F |  Oman
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |
| 6 | A | China
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 2 |
| Qatar | 2–1 | Palestine |
|---|---|---|
49' (pen.) |
Report |
|
Attendance: 63,753
|
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Countries at the AFC Asian Cup
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| Former |
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1 Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under other name(s). 2 Israel was a member of the AFC until 1974. 3 Recognized by FIFA as defunct. | |
