From a Rafah tent to the national team: Mohammed Balah's Asian Cup hopes
The 33-year-old striker, once called the 'Ronaldo of Gaza', returned to Palestine's squad in June after 2,495 days, the longest gap between caps in the team's history.
Mohammed Balah was in Gaza recovering from a knee injury when the war began in October 2023. His family fled from Gaza City to Khan Younis and then to a tent in Rafah, and in April 2024 he paid $7,000 to cross into Egypt, Arab News reports. His pregnant wife could not follow, and he has seen his two-year-old son only on a phone screen.
After surgery and rehabilitation in Egypt he rebuilt his fitness, and he now plays for Al-Ahed in Lebanon after spells in Egypt, Jordan, Oman and Qatar. He returned to the national team against Kyrgyzstan in June 2026, 2,495 days after his previous cap.
“Inshallah, I can be their ambassador and deliver their message to the world.”
Mohammed Balah, Palestine striker
The Palestine Football Association says 568 members of the football community have been killed in the war. Balah hopes to be in coach Ehab Abu Jazar's squad for the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Reported from
- Arab News27 Oct
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