Doha: Makram Daboub told his Palestine team to make “history” by reaching the Asian Cup knockout stage for the first time following a 1-1 draw with 10-man United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
A thrilling game in Qatar took place against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
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.
A brief moment’s silence was held before kick-off.
Most of the crowd of over 40,000 in Doha roared their support for Palestine, but the UAE opened the scoring midway through the first half through Sultan Adil’s header.
The game completely changed when Palestine were awarded a penalty in the 37th minute and UAE defender Khalifa Al-Hammadi was sent off.
Tamer Seyam saw his spot-kick saved by Khalid Eisa but Palestine deservedly equalised five minutes into the second half when UAE defender Bader Nasser headed into his own goal.
Palestine could not go on to claim their first ever win at the Asian Cup, with Eisa denying them with a series of crucial saves.
But Daboub is confident that they can progress to the last 16 when they play minnows Hong Kong in their final group match on Tuesday.
“The match against Hong Kong will be historic, not only for the players and fans but for all the Palestinian people,” said the coach, whose team began their campaign with a 4-1 loss to Iran.
“Our message is not only a sporting message, it will mean a lot for the people given what is happening there. We hope that we can make history.”
Daboub said his team were unlucky not to win the game after creating a string of second-half chances.
But they came up against an inspired performance by Eisa, whose saves also kept the UAE on course for a place in the last 16.
“The reason why I played well is my calmness, my psychology and my connection with my teammates,” said the goalkeeper.