Sameh Maraaba

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Sameh Maraaba

| image =

| fullname = Sameh Maraaba

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1992|3|19}}

| birth_place = Qalqilya, Palestine

| height = {{convert|1.80|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

| currentclub = Al-Sareeh

| clubnumber = 6

| position = Forward

| youthyears1 = –2012

| youthclubs1 = Jabal Al-Mukaber

| years1 = 2012

| clubs1 = Jabal Al-Mukaber

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| years2 = 2012–2014

| clubs2 = Hilal Al-Quds

| caps2 =

| goals2 =

| years3 = 2014–2015

| clubs3 = Islami Qalqilya

| caps3 =

| goals3 =

| years4 = 2015

| clubs4 = Shabab Yatta

| caps4 =

| goals4 =

| years5 = 2015–2016

| clubs5 = Shabab Al-Khader

| caps5 =

| goals5 =

| years6 = 2016–2017

| clubs6 = Thaqafi Tulkarem

| caps6 =

| goals6 =

| years7 = 2017–2018

| clubs7 = Ahli Al-Khaleel

| caps7 =

| goals7 =

| years8 = 2018–2019

| clubs8 = Shabab Al-Khalil

| caps8 =

| goals8 =

| years9 = 2019–2022

| clubs9 = Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari

| caps9 =

| goals9 =

| years10 = 2022–2024

| clubs10 = Jabal Al-Mukaber

| caps10 =

| goals10 =

| years11 = 2024

| clubs11 = Al Khalij

| caps11 =

| goals11 =

| years12 = 2024–

| clubs12 = Al-Sareeh

| caps12 =

| goals12 =

| nationalyears1 = 2015–

| nationalteam1 = Palestine

| nationalcaps1 = 41

| nationalgoals1 = 11

| pcupdate =

| ntupdate = 11 September 2023

}}

Sameh Maraaba (born 19 March 1992) is a Palestinian footballer who plays for Al-Sareeh as a forward in the Jordanian Pro League and for the Palestine national team.

Career

Maraaba made his professional international debut for Palestine in 2015 during Second round World Cup qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup against Saudi Arabia.{{cite web|url=http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/match/2028608/saudi-arabia-vs-palestine/live|title=Saudi Arabia v Palestine|date=12 June 2015|publisher=SBS|accessdate=17 June 2015}} The very next game, against Malaysia he scored twice, in Palestine's 6-0 surprise routing.{{cite web|url=http://www.espnfc.com/world-cup-qualifying-afc/story/2494182/malaysia-demolished-at-home-by-palestine-in-wc-qualifier|title=Woeful hosts Malaysia demolished by Palestine in World Cup qualifier|date=17 June 2015|publisher=ESPN|accessdate=17 June 2015}}

=International goals=

:Scores and results list Palestine's goal tally first.{{cite web|url=http://www.national-football-teams.com/player/59481/Sameh_Maraba.html|title=Maraba, Sameh|publisher=National Football Teams|accessdate=19 June 2017}}

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
class="wikitable"
1.	rowspan=2\|16 May 2015	rowspan=2\|Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	rowspan=2\|{{fb\|Malaysia}}	align=center \| 2–0	rowspan=2 align=center \|6–0	rowspan=2\|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	align=center \| 4–0
3.	7 June 2017	Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain	{{fb\|BHR}}	align=center \| 1–0	align=center \| 2–0	Friendly
4.	10 October 2017	Dora International Stadium, Hebron, Palestine	{{fb\|BHU}}	align=center \| 4–0	align=center \| 10–0	2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
5.	rowspan="4" \| 14 November 2017	rowspan="4" \| Arab American University Stadium, Jenin, Palestine	rowspan="4" \| {{fb\|MDV}}	align=center \| 3–0	rowspan="4" style="text-align:center"\| 8–1	rowspan="4" \| 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
6.	align=center \| 5–1
7.	align=center \| 6–1
8.	align=center \| 8–1
9.	10 October 2018	Cox's Bazar Stadium, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh	{{fb\|BAN}}	align=center \| 2–0	align=center \| 2–0	2018 Bangabandhu Cup
10.	16 December 2018	Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar	{{fb\|PAK}}	align=center \| 2–0	align=center \| 2–0	Friendly
11.	25 January 2020	Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh	{{fb\|BDI}}	align=center \| 2–0	align=center \| 3–1	2020 Bangabandhu Cup
12.	18 January 2021	Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait	{{fb\|KUW}}	align=center \| 1–0	align=center \| 1–0	Friendly

Personal life

Maraaba would have made his debut for Palestine a lot sooner, however he was embroiled within the political turmoil that surrounds Palestine as a nation. Maraaba was arrested by the Israeli Defence Force on 28 April 2014 at the border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank as he returned from a training camp in Qatar.{{cite web|url=http://footballpalestine.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/sameh-maraba-freed.html|title=Sameh Mar'aba Freed!|date=9 December 2014|publisher=Football Palestine|accessdate=17 June 2015}} A spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed they had "concrete information that he was carrying, or was involved in the potential transfer of communication equipment and finance on behalf of Hamas".{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-14/palestinians-national-football-team-battle-to-get-to-australia/6384818|title=How the Palestinian national football team beat the odds in battle to get to Asian Cup in Australia|last=Goldberg|first=Dan|date=14 April 2015|publisher=ABC News |accessdate=17 June 2015}} Maraaba denied the claims, with the Palestinian Football Association claiming that he had been "carrying money back to his football club which had been given to him by an ex-colleague of the club who had previously been jailed by Israel as a member of Hamas". As a result, Maraaba was detained for a period of 7 months, resulting in him missing Palestine's 2014 AFC Challenge Cup campaign (in which Palestine would ultimately win, qualifying for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in the process), the 2014 Asian Games (in which Palestine made the Round of 16), and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia.