Palestine have qualified for the knockout stage of the football Asian Cup for the first time after defeating Hong Kong on Tuesday.
It is also Palestine’s first victory in Asian Cup history.
In the ongoing Asian Cup match in Qatar, Palestine defeated Hong Kong by three goals to zero.
Palestine missed out on second place in their Group C but advanced as one of the four best teams to finish third.
The United Arab Emirates are second despite losing 2-1 to group winners Iran.
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While on the one hand Israel’s aggression on Gaza continues, this victory is the only happy news for the Palestinians.
After this historic victory, the captain of the Palestinian team, Musab al-Batat, speaking to BIN Sports, said, “Thank you to the fans who came to support Palestine and the Palestinian national team.” Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.’
“We will try our best to bring smiles on people’s faces,” he said.
Palestinian players and staff members have lost loved ones during the Israeli offensive in Gaza and said before the tournament that they hoped to bring some relief to those back home.
The moment of silence before the match was echoed with chants of ‘Free Palestine’.
On the other hand, in the Football Asian Cup, Syria has also made history by qualifying for the knockout stage of the tournament.
