Palestine remained at the top of their group after a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Tunisia in the Fifa Arab Cup, while hosts Qatar slipped to the bottom of Group A after sharing the points with Syria.
Palestine began the tournament in brilliant fashion, defeating Qatar. Tunisia, having fallen to a surprise defeat to Syria earlier, were determined to get back on track and seemed on course of a win in front of a 45,000 strong crowd at the Lusail Stadium.
Playmaker Ismael Gharbi's 16th-minute corner helped Tunisia take the lead. An in-swinger from the left was sent to the back post by Amor Layouni.
The 2021 runners-up doubled the lead six minutes into the second half as Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane squared the ball for Firas Chaouat to sweep past Rami Hamada.
However, Palestine did not give up. A crisp Hamed Hamdan volley from the top of the box reduced the deficit just after the hour.
Zaid Qunbar then sparked wild celebrations as he lashed home through Tunisian defenders late on to seal a vital point that took the war-ravaged nation closer to a place in the knockout stage for the first time.
“For sure it looks like in the second half we play better or we make greater effort but we feel we are doing something special at this tournament. All the national team, all the staff and the players, we want to say thank you to all the people who are supporting us and who are trusting us," defender Yaser Hamed told the Fifa website.
“We receive a lot of messages from everywhere, from all over the world and it's really amazing for us.”
Palestine coach Ihad Abu Jazar said his players simply don't give up.
“Our performance in the first match gave us belief and we came with a single motivation: to take points from a strong Tunisian side and thank God we were able to do it," he said.
“This was down to the players' high level of concentration, where they were always focused on their duties. The important thing is that we didn't lose our focus. We fought until the very last minute to win or not to lose, so we played a great match, a truly special game.”
The mood was the exact opposite in Qatar's camp. A 90th-minute stunner from Omar Khribin secured a dramatic draw for Syria and stunned the hosts who were looking for their first victory of the campaign.
Syria put in another impressive performance in the Arab Cup after their win over Tunisia. They almost broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute when a chipped effort by Khribin was blocked off the line by Qatar midfielder Mohammed Waad.
Early in the second half, Qatar who had an effort blocked on the line when captain Abdulaziz Hatem's shot struck Ahmad Faqa.
Qatar thought they had the win in the 77th minute when Ahmed Al Aaedin sent Edmilson Junior's cross into the net.
But Syria claimed the draw after Khribin's long-distance effort flew into the top corner at the Khalifa International Stadium, adding more pressure on Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui.
