Palestine continued their remarkable progress as they defeated hosts Qatar 1-0 in their Fifa Arab Cup opener on Monday.
Palestine emerged as deserved winners, although they were aided by a stoppage-time own goal from Sultan Al Brake.
The capacity crowd at Al Bayt Stadium had little to cheer as Palestine kept Qatar at bay. The home team failed to create any real chances and paid the price for a mistake right towards the end.
After a tense opening half, Qatar had claims for a penalty when Michael Termanini brought down Akram Afif in the Palestine area but the referee did not oblige. Moments later, Palestine substitute Oday Dabbagh struck just wide of the post.
Palestine missed a golden chance in the 78th minute when substitute Ahmad Alqaq blazed over the bar from just six yards out. Soon afterwards, Palestine winger Wajdi Mohammed sent in a cross but Zeid Qunbar failed to connect.
But Ihab Abu Jazar's team were rewarded for their attacking play in the 95th minute when a Mohammed Saleh header was diverted by Al Brake into his own net.
It marked another positive result for war-ravaged Palestine, who defeated Libya 4-3 on penalties to secure a place in the Arab Cup.
They had earlier come close to reaching Asia's World Cup play-off and have already secured a spot at the 2027 Asian Cup.
Following the win, Palestine's Zaid Qunbar believes the best is yet to come from his team.
"We worked with the coach and staff and put in a lot of effort to improve our level, and we got the result we wanted. The opponent has a strong team, but thank God we managed to win," Qunbar told the Fifa website.
"The substitutions were positive. Oday Dabbagh had just arrived from travel, and the changes helped make the difference. Everyone fought hard on the pitch. Our goal before the match, and even before this win, was to reach the knockout stage, and we are moving in that direction. The best is yet to come and we want to reach our target."
Qatar midfielder Abdulaziz Hatem said the players and coach Julen Lopetegui are unhappy with the result and will look to bounce back as quickly as possible.
"We were hoping to take the three points. The match was at home and our fans were expecting a win from us. We didn’t show the level we wanted, but we hope to make up for it in the next two games. Coach Julen Lopetegui is not satisfied with what happened today, but God willing, we will make up for it in the next two matches," he said.
