January 28 – Confident of their pedigree, Palestine have vowed to saviour the moment as they face host nation Qatar in the last sixteen of the Asian Cup.
After their 4-0 win against Hong Kong, a weight has dropped off the shoulders of the Palestinian players and Monday’s match in Al Khor will be something of a coronation for the team.
Palestine lost to Iran and drew with the United Arab Emirates but came good against Joern Andersen’s exhausted Hong Kong team to book a historic ticket to the knockout stages. “Everyone knows what is taking place in Palestine, the pressure on the players is huge, especially with family who are not able to leave,” said Tamer Seyam. “It will be a big celebration tomorrow, for the first time you will see the fans support two teams.”
Manager Makram Daboub said that “qualifying for the knockout stages is a big achievement” after Palestine failed to get out of the group stages in both the 2015 and 2019 tournaments. The Tunisian emphasised that the Palestinians are not in the knockout stages to make up the numbers and will rely on their strengths to take on the Maroons.
The round of 16 encounter between the hosts and the Lions of Canaan will be the first time the two sides have met at the continental finals.
Qatar are the favourites to prevail against Palestine, who against a backdrop of war in Gaza have reached the last 16 for the first time. History however is on the side of the cup holders, who have gone undefeated in their 10 previous matches against Palestine, keeping a clean sheet in each of their last five encounters.
In the first round, the partnership between Almoez Ali and Akram Afif, instrumental en route to Qatar’s first continental title four years ago, blossomed again and Qatar will bank on the pair excelling again to overcome Palestine and progress far in the tournament.
“The relationship between Akram and me is very close we have played together for ten years,” explained Ali, who has 107 caps to his name.
“The communication is very good, I call him Mr. Assist. He is the one who leads me in front of the box and allows me to score. He helps me and I help him. Everyone in the team helps each other. Akram is a player and a coach for us. He finds solutions, he is very creative in the pitch. We are so lucky to have him.”
If Ali and Afif produce more outstanding link-up play, Palestine could find it difficult to contain Qatar, who will obviously enjoy passionate home support. The winner will return to Al Bayt Stadium to face Thailand or Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals.
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