The Palestinians beat Hong Kong 3-0 on Tuesday in Doha in a group match at the Asian Cup of Nations and will play in the round of 16 of the competition for the first time in their history. With just one victory, their first in the Asian Cup finals, they did not finish in the top two of their group, but qualified by placing among the four best third-placed groups.
Iran and the United Arab Emirates finished in the first two places. This historic victory for the Palestinians comes against the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Before the meeting, a minute of silence dedicated to the victims of violence was disrupted by cries of “Liberate Palestine!”
The approximately 6,500 spectators in the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha overwhelmingly cheered Palestine during the match, as during the team’s two previous outings in this Asian Cup. At kick-off, the two teams still had a chance of qualifying for the eighth, provided they won by a large margin.
Palestine opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a cross shot from Oday Dabbagh, well served on the counter by his captain Musab Battat. The same Dabbagh then wasted several chances in the first half, which ended with a score of 1-0. Hong Kong then experienced a moment of domination, but the Palestinian defense held firm. Palestine doubled the lead just after the break (48th) through Zeid Qunbar, on another assist from Battat from his right side. However, the Palestinians were still missing a goal to secure the qualifying place for the eighth. Dabbagh, with a double, opened the doors to the second round for them on the hour mark (60th), following a ball pushed back by the bar after a long shot from Tamer Seyam.
Under pressure, Palestine trembled in the eighth minute of added time, when the referee awarded a penalty to Hong Kong for a Battat handball confirmed by VAR. But Everton Camargo sent the ball over the bar, causing an explosion of joy among the Palestine fans.