Soccer-Profile on Palestine team for 2015 Asian Cup

Reuters

Jan 2 (Reuters) - Factbox on Asian Cup qualifiers Palestine. Asian Cup record: Previous appearances in finals: 0 Drawn in Group D with Iraq, Japan and Jordan. - - - Coach: Ahmed Al Hassan Former national team goalkeeper who stepped up from assistant coach when Jamal Mahmoud quit in September for personal reasons. Previously coached the Palestine women's team in 2012 after starting out with stints with youth sides in Iraq. - - - Key player: Ashraf Nu'man. Age: 28. Striker. Ashraf Nu'man scored the winning goal as Palestine beat the Philippines in the final of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup to book a place in Australia. It was one of four goals the midfielder scored in the Maldives after being pushed forward in the absence of six recognised strikers. The Challenge Cup top scorer helped Taraji Wadi Al-Nes to the 2013-14 West Bank Premier League title at home before moving to Saudi Arabia and Al Faisaly for the current campaign. - - - FIFA world ranking Dec. 2014: 113 How they qualified: By winning the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. Squad: Tawfiq Abuhammad (Wadi Al Neiss), Raed Fares (Thaqafi Tulkarem), Husam Abusalah (Hilal Al Quds), Ahmed Mahajna (Shabab Al Alma'ar), Haytham Theeb (Hilal Al Quds), Mousa Abujazar (Shabab Al Khader), Ashraf Nu'man (Al Faisaly, Saudi Arabia), Hisham Salhi (Hilal Al Quds), Khaled Salem (Hilal Al Quds), Ismail Al-Amour (Hilal Al Quds), Ahmed Wridat (Ahli Al Khalil), Tamer Salah (Hilal Al Quds), Jaka Hbaisha (Karaka, Slovenia), Abdallah Jaber (Hilal Al Quds), Abdallatif Al-Bahdari (Al Wehdat, Jordan), Mahmoud Dhadha (Nykopings BIS, Sweden), Alexis Norabuena (GKS Belchatow, Poland), Musab Battat (Shabab Al Dahriah), Abdulhamid Abuhabib (Shabab Balatah), Khader Abuhammad (Wadi Al Neiss), Ramzi Saleh (Smouha, Egypt), Rami Hamada (Shabab Al Khader), Murad Said (Hilal Al Quds) (Compiled by Patrick Johnston; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)