Asian Cup: Syria make history reaching knockouts

Syria's players hoisted Omar Khribin into the air in celebration after the final whistle, recognizing the significance of the moment.

Khribin's goal, Syria's only of the group stages, gave them a 1-0 win against India and sealed their first ever spot in the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup as one of the best third-placed sides. It was perhaps the most important goal in the country's football history. For a side that has seemingly not played a home game in over a decade due to an on-going conflict in the country, the emotion of the moment was tangible. In the post-game interview with head coach Hector Cuper, both the translator and the interviewer burst into tears.

"We are very happy with the qualification, very proud of my players, they made huge sacrifices to get this result," Cuper said afterwards. "We played the game with one aim in our mind — to win, and we managed to do that. We don't want to stop here."

Argentinian coach Cuper has an esteemed history in football, twice taking Valencia to the Champions League final and Egypt to the Africa Cup of Nations final in 2017 and their first World Cup in 28 years in 2018. At 68, this might be his final hurrah in football, and if so then he has delivered a moment of joy to Syrian fans.

Country in conflict

Syria has been battling conflict for over a decade and as Nada al-Rashed, a director of the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets), told Al Jazeera earlier this month, Syrians had welcomed 2024 the same way they had bid farewell to 2023: "with bloodshed".

Even beyond the bombings, the country has suffered. In February 2023, a devastating earthquake saw more than 6,000 people killed and according to the Syria Earthquake RDNA, the physical damages caused were estimated at $3.7 billion (€3.4 billion).

Just four days later, Cuper was appointed, and immediately said he had a greater desire to make Syrian fans happy after the suffering. "We know that we cannot remove the pain, but we try to ease the pain."

After the game, a video on social media of the players shouting politically charged slogans on the team bus, such as: "Our soul, our blood we sacrifice for you Bashar [al-Assad]" went viral. Indeed, the Syrian team is not celebrated by all in the country as millions of regime critics see it as part of the regime's propaganda.

History and a chance

Now into the knockouts, Syria's footballers are dreaming of making more history — and for their players, this is also a chance to change their careers.

"The Asian Cup is a very big tournament and for many players it is a very big market, a platform to perform and show what you can do," Syrian midfielder Mohammed Osman told Arab News earlier this month. "It gives this extra incentive knowing that if you have a good tournament, you could have an exciting new opportunity.”

Of the 26 players in the squad, 10 play outside of the Middle East, with eight based in Syria. None play in any of Europe's top five leagues.

Perhaps Syria's Asian Cup will be over in the next round, perhaps none of the current squad will seal moves to Europe and perhaps this great moment will not spark a run of form that might aid their 2026 World Cup qualifying, but right now that does not matter. Syria's footballer's have made history and that is worth savoring.

Edited by: James Thorogood

AFP contributed to this report

This article was updated after the social media video from the team bus was released.