Historic Asian Cup over in last 16 for 'champions' Palestine

AL KHOR: Palestine coach Makram Daboub said he was proud of his "champions" after they bowed out of the best Asian Cup in their history with a 2-1 defeat to hosts and holders Qatar on Monday.

Palestine appeared in the knockout rounds for the first time in three Asian Cups and has enjoyed strong support during the tournament from fans of rival teams.

The last-16 encounter 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.

A young girl in the crowd held up a sign that said Sorry Palestine after the final whistle.

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 competition.

Daboub said his players "gave everything despite the very difficult circumstances".

"I can't ask any more of them - they have honoured Palestinian football," said the coach, whose team beat Hong Kong 3-0 in the group phase for their first victory at an Asian Cup.

"I am very proud of my champions. They have big ambitions and they are always proud to represent the Palestinian people."

The crowd of almost 65,000 at the tent-like Al-Bayt Stadium were overwhelmingly cheering for Qatar but they also offered support for Palestine.

Palestine's Oday Dabbagh stunned the crowd 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.

"Our message is a double message - it's a sporting message and a message to our people," said the Tunisian Daboub.

"The Palestinian people are very passionate and we want to make them happy. We're