Palestine thrash China 5-0 in Chongqing friendly

Palestine ended their training camp in China with a dominant 5-0 victory over the hosts in a friendly match at Chongqing Longxing Stadium on Friday.

Asad Al-Hamlawi opened the scoring in the 16th minute, turning home a right-footed shot from inside the penalty area after being set up by Oday Dabbagh. The goal was awarded following a review by the video assistant referee.

Al-Hamlawi struck again six minutes later to give Palestine a two-goal advantage. His second came after a pass from Zaid Qanbar and was also confirmed by VAR.

Palestine added a third in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time. Dabbagh collected a pass from Ameed Mahajna before finding the net with a left-footed effort from inside the area.

China made five substitutions at half-time in an attempt to change the course of the match, but Palestine continued to control the game.

Dabbagh scored his second goal of the evening and Palestine’s fourth in the 54th minute. The forward cut in from the right side of the penalty area and finished with his right foot.

China came close to reducing the deficit when two direct free-kicks struck the right-hand post. Wang Shangyuan hit the woodwork in the 68th minute, before Liu Yang did the same with another free-kick in the 79th.

Palestine completed the scoring in the third minute of added time. Substitute Ahmed Al-Qaq, who had replaced Dabbagh in the 82nd minute, fired a right-footed shot into the net from the centre of the penalty area.

The match also produced two yellow cards. Palestine’s Khaled Al-Nabrisi was booked in the 50th minute, while China’s Gao Chunyi received a caution in the 68th minute for a dangerous challenge.

The result followed another victory for Palestine during the same camp, with the side beating Tajikistan 4-2. Al-Hamlawi scored twice in that match as well.

The win against China brought Palestine’s camp to a strong conclusion, with their side keeping control throughout the match and scoring five times without reply.