AsianCup2023 | Group C : Hong Kong, China 0 - 3 Palestine

Hong Kong, China face Palestine in the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, with both sides looking for a first ever Asian Cup win. A win which could also open the door to a first ever knockout round appearance. It's all to play for for the teams who trail the United Arab Emirates and Iran in Group C. Hong Kong trail Palestine by a point and will enter the game with plenty of attacking intent. Hong Kong's head coach Bjorn Andersen has opted to bring in goalkeeper Tse-Ka Wing who makes his first start in the competition. And up front Michael Odubluza comes into the attack. Palestine's head coach Makram Daboud makes one change in defence as Mohamed Khalil comes in at left back. And there's also a change in midfielder as Ahmed Mahajna replaces Mohamed Rashid. Palestine in a promising position in the first 12 minutes. Attacking down the right hand side. The ball whipped in and it's met by Daboud. In the 12th minute, Tim Moussab al-Batt's pacey pinpoint cross finish as he powers the header past the goalkeeper for the open up. Just past the half hour mark and it's Odubluza rumbling forwards. He can release it to Chan and his shot just misses the top right hand corner. It was Hong Kong's best effort up to this point. The back of the other end, Palestine coming down that favoured right hand side. Sam to Daboud and it's blocked on the line. Sehkar Wing with a fantastic stop. Spreads himself wide and keeps Hong Kong in the game. And then it's injury time. Hong Kong coming forwards through Everton. Great run. Beats the defenders. But the angle was tight and it's into the midriff of Rami Hamada. To half time and Palestine go into the break with a slender 1-0 lead. In truth, they've been the better side so far. Into the second half, Palestine coming down that right hand side again and the ball in. First international goal in the 48th minute from Moussab al-Battat. Into those areas, Puffer straight at the start of the second half. The ball sent long by the goalkeeper, it's Sam with a chance to take on the defence. Cuts inside onto his favoured left foot and it's off the crossbar and into the back of the net. Grabs his second of the game. The first minute, nicely to the burp. And Palestine are improving their chances of qualifying with every goal that they score. Into the 79th minute, Palestine cruising towards the victory now. Sam's through after that mistake, just the goalkeeper to beat. And Sehkar Wing again coming to the rescue. This time the right boot enough to deflect it past the post. Into stoppage time, the ball's worked out to Islam Batran. Onto his left and his shot just wide of the mark. Another goal could prove crucial and maybe a major factor on deciding who goes through. And then deep into stoppage time, the referee, Sean Evans, asked to review this possible handball by Batat. Everton against Hamada. And it's fired against the cross. Another chance for a consolation goal, but it's into the side netting from Stefan Figueiredo. Nothing has quite come off for Hong Kong today. So Palestine take the deserved three points, but they'll have to wait until the end of the group games to find out if they've qualified for the next round as they finish third in the group after a late comeback by the United Arab Emirates against Iran. Hong Kong struggled to find a foothold in the game after falling behind and finished bottom of Group C, meaning they are eliminated from this year's Asian Cup.