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Sportskeeda looks back at Palestine’s 4-2 win over India by listing the top five performers in the game.
1. Ashraf Nu’man (Palestine)
With Swedish-born winger Imad Zatara ruled out, Nu’man was forced to play slightly out of position on the left flank, but it didn’t matter, as the 26-year-old stepped up and scored a brilliant hattrick to maintain his side’s invincibility against South Asian nations. All three of his goals were special and different. The first was a sumptuous half volley. He kept his cool to convert the penalty for his second and the third came after some brilliant persistence and trickery. Nu’man produced a man-of-the-match performance and lived up to the tag of being ‘the most dangerous’ player in the Palestine side.
2. Hussam Abu Saleh (Palestine)
The right winger probably would have been number one had Nu’man not scored a hattrick. Abu Saleh started the game slowly but gradually got into the groove and started causing problems to India’s Syed Rahim Nabi. He did some great work to get his cross in for Nu’man’s first goal and right after the interval showed good technique to make it 2-2. It was only his third international goal, but the 29-year-old wasn’t done there. He then went on to win the penalty which Nu’man converted to give Palestine the lead for the first time in the game. Nabi wouldn’t want to face Abu Saleh anytime soon.
3. Mahmoud Salah (Palestine)
Despite having the edge in terms of international experience with the pairing of Khader Yousef and Ma’aly Kaware, Palestine struggled to impose their authority in the middle of the park in the first period. The introduction of 19-year-old Salah at the start of the second half proved to be a masterstroke from coach Jamal Mahmoud, as the teenager’s energy seemed to revitalise Palestine because they started winning the second balls, and the experienced Yousef could also start dictating play from midfield. This was only Salah’s fourth international cap but he showed plenty of maturity.
4. Abdelhamid Abuhabib (Palestine)
The 23-year-old’s stock has been rising since the brace against Philippines in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup third-place playoff, and he enhanced his reputation tonight with a fine display in the number ‘10’ role behind lone striker Eyad Abugharqud. Abuhabib had a lot of responsibility in this game as Nu’man had to start on the left flank but the youngster repaid his coach’s faith by expertly using the space between India’s midfield and defence. After a quiet first half, Abuhabib picked up his game in the second period as his movement kept the Indian players occupied and allowed Nu’man and Abu Saleh to exploit the fullbacks.
5. Mehtab Hossain (India)
Very few Indian players had a decent outing, with Nabi making three costly mistakes while the other goal scorer Clifford Miranda was anonymous from open play in the second half. Central midfielder Mehtab Hossain wasn’t at his best, but worked extremely hard and outfought the Palestine midfield in the first half, besides assisting Nabi’s goal. In the second half he lacked support from his teammates and was one of the few players in the Indian team whose physical levels didn’t drop.
