Palestine’s coach describes his team as “my champion” after the narrow 1-2 defeat against hosts and defending champions Qatar.

Al Khor, Qatar – In a game that pitted two ‘home teams’ against each other at the Al Bayt Stadium with strong support from the visitors, it was hosts Qatar’s form and experience that helped them edge past one spirited performance from Palestine and secure a place in the quarterfinals of the Asian Championship 2023 with a 2-1 win.

The defending champions went into the round of 16 on Monday with the expectations of a passionate home crowd and an impressive group stage performance.

However, it was Palestine, playing in the knockout stages of the Asian Cup for the first time, who came out of the starting blocks with the wind in their sails and put Qatar under early pressure.

The visitors, playing in their white away jersey, took advantage of a relatively slow start from Qatar and launched waves of attacks on the Qatari goal.

By comparison, Qatar’s movement within the Palestinian penalty area was restricted – a plan by Palestine coach Makram Daboub that was executed almost perfectly by his players.

“My players gave everything they could and didn’t give them much space at the beginning,” Daboub said in his post-match press conference.

Palestine’s pressure and moves paid off in the 37th minute when Oday Dabbagh scored a beautiful solo goal and joined his teammates in their trademark “victory celebration” – folding his arms and making the V sign with his fingers.

For a team that was defeated Iran 1:4 In their opening game two weeks ago, the Fedayeen had made great strides in putting pressure on one of the tournament favorites.

However, their defense couldn’t do much to stop the home team’s captain, Hassan Al Haydos, equalizing in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

The reaction from the home crowd was one of loud expressions of relief and joy.

Akram Afif, a crowd favorite and the tournament’s top scorer, turned the game on its head with a perfectly converted penalty four minutes into the second half.

For the rest of the game, Palestine tried to create chances, but none of them bore fruit.

The physical fatigue of traveling to different countries to train psychological stress caused by the war Daboub’s men were at home and the emotional pressure of wanting to bring joy to their people was too great.

“They went through a difficult time but were still ready to put on a good show for all Palestinians,” Daboub said.

“I couldn’t have asked for more from them. They honored Palestinian football and the Palestinian people. They are my champions.”

Their fans, who came to the venue in their thousands to support them one last time, said the team had already done “more than enough” to bring joy to the people of Gaza who almost suffered four months of war.

“Even if they hadn’t won games or scored goals, we would have been proud of them,” Samar Ustaz, a Palestinian living in Qatar, told Al Jazeera after the game.

“We have shown that nothing can break our spirit. Even when we are pushed to the edge, we stand up and fight back.”

Yousef Ayman, another Palestine fan with family in Haifa, said everything the players showed was the embodiment of the Palestinian spirit.

“We can withstand any challenge,” he said.

When the game ended, the Palestinian team took a moment to take in the atmosphere, process their emotions, and then went to their fans to applaud them for their support.

From the first game against Iran two weeks ago, to the draw against the United Arab Emirates, to an emotional victory over Hong Kong and their first knockout game in the tournament’s history, the Palestinian flag was waved by thousands and freedom Palestine’s demands were heard loud and clear.