VIDEO: Palestine captain’s family cheer AFC Asian Cup performance

The Palestinians lost the game 2-1, but it was the first time they had reached the knock-out stages of the tournament.

Published : Jan 30, 2024 16:53 IST - 1 MIN READ

Family and friends of Palestine football captain Musab Al-Battat watch from the West Bank as his team take on Qatar in the AFC Asian Cup.

The Palestinians lost the game 2-1, but it was the first time they had reached the knock-out stages of the tournament.

The game north of Doha took place against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war in the Palestinian territory of Gaza and a brief moment’s silence was held before kick-off.

Some of the Palestinian players have lost loved ones or have family trapped in Gaza, and the team have been forced to train and play matches overseas in the lead-up to the tournament.

RELATED | To Gaza, with love: Palestine looks to give hope in times of war at AFC Asian Cup 2023

Palestine’s Oday Dabbagh stunned the crowd of almost 65,000 at the tent-like Al-Bayt Stadium by opening the scoring in the 37th minute.

He and his team-mates celebrated by crossing their raised arms in a handcuffs gesture to symbolise the plight of the Palestinian people.

However, Qatar equalised through captain Hassan Al-Haydos in first-half injury time, before Akram Afif scored his fourth goal of the tournament, from the penalty spot, four minutes after the break.

The hosts made it four wins out of four at the competition and moved into a quarter-final against either Uzbekistan or Thailand.

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