Oday Dabbagh inspires Palestine to historic 5-0 win over China

Oday Dabbagh scored twice as Palestine secured their first-ever victory over China with a emphatic 5-0 friendly win on Friday.

Palestine are preparing for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup by taking part in a friendly tournament in China, alongside the hosts, New Zealand and Tajikistan.

The result completed an unbeaten start to the competition for Palestine. They opened with a 2-2 draw against New Zealand before beating Tajikistan 4-2.

Before Friday’s match, Palestine had never defeated China, recording five defeats and two draws in their previous meetings. That record changed decisively as Palestine produced their biggest victory over the hosts.

Dabbagh started the match alongside Ameed Sawafteh, Wajdi Nabhan and Khaled Al-Nabriss. Palestine took the lead in the 16th minute when Asad Al-Hamلاوي converted a chance created by Dabbagh.

Al-Hamلاوي struck again six minutes later to double Palestine’s advantage. Dabbagh then added a third goal in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time, giving his side a commanding lead at the interval.

The forward completed his brace nine minutes after the restart, making it 4-0 in the 54th minute.

That goal also took Dabbagh’s international tally to 21, extending his record as Palestine’s all-time leading scorer.

Palestine made further changes in the 72nd minute, with Hamed Hamdan and Adam Kaied coming on as substitutes. Bader Mousa and Abdullah Rashed remained on the bench throughout the match.

Substitute Ahmad Al-Qaq completed the scoring in the third minute of stoppage time to seal a five-goal victory.

Palestine will compete in Group C at the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia. Their group also contains Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman.