Hong Kong’s dreams of making history by reaching the knockout rounds of the AFC Asian Cup finals in Qatar were dashed on Tuesday following a 3-0 defeat by Palestine.
But several hundred fans cheered on as some footballers made a tearful exit from the tournament. Hong Kong last reached the finals 56 years ago.
The Group C match on Tuesday at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium was crucial to both Hong Kong and Palestine, as both teams were bent on booking a historic appearance in the elimination rounds of the quadrennial tournament.
Oday Dabbagh put Palestine in the lead in the 12th minute with a header, leaving Hong Kong trailing 0-1 by half-time.
Palestine scored their second goal in the 48th minute, while Dabbagh further expanded the lead to 3-0 in the 56th minute.
Hong Kong could have narrowed the gap near the closing stage with a penalty, but Everton Camargo’s powerful kick landed on the crossbar and bounded out. Palestine celebrated their 3-0 victory and their unprecedented achievement of advancing to the knockout stage.
Tuesday’s defeat marked the end of Hong Kong’s journey at AFC Asian Cup finals after losing all three matches in the group stage.
Some representatives of the city teared up as they bowed and thanked supporters who brought banners and towels with slogans reading: “We are Hong Kong,” “Hong Kong team kicks ass” and “Hong Kong Add Oil.”
Speaking to Hong Kong media after the match, goalkeeper Yapp Hung-fai shed tears and said he could feel the support and involvement of Hongkongers at this year’s AFC Asian Cup finals. Although the team was unable to make it to the next stage, he was still very touched that Hong Kong fans fervently cheered for them after their defeat.
“I have represented Hong Kong for so long. It was the first time for fans, the media and the whole of Hong Kong to participate so eagerly in the finals week… It feels like the whole of Hong Kong is really involved and engaged this time,” Yapp said in Cantonese.
Another Hong Kong team member – Matt Orr – vowed to return to the Asian tournament in the future.
“It’s just given us the taste of the pinnacle of Asian football. We definitely want to be back here… We’ve learned that we can compete with some of the best teams in Asia,” Orr said in a post-match interview.
Corrections:
4pm, 21.1.24: A previous version of this piece mistakenly referred to "Thursday" rather than "Tuesday." We regret the error.
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