In their third appearance in the competition, Palestine created history, making their first AFC Asian Cup Round of 16 arrival.

Hosts and defending champions Qatar have expressed clear intentions to defeat Palestine as they aim to take their place in the quarter-final of the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

Speaking ahead of the match on Monday at the Al Bayt Stadium, Head coach Marquez Lopez credited his Qatar squad for maintaining a flawless defensive record in the competition.

“There are no easy games in football, especially in tournaments like this,” said Lopez.

“We are happy with how we have played in the group stage. We were very competitive in every game, there are small changes to make and improve on, but overall, we played well and tried to give all players an opportunity to play,” the Spanish coach added.

Lopez addressed the Qatari discipline on the football pitch and how he expects to confront the Palestinian team that he recalls as a brave squad.

“I love attacking football, but we always have to find the right balance between attack and defence. It is to the credit of the players that we have yet to concede a goal because they implemented my ideas on the pitch very well, so I’m thankful for them for absorbing the ideas well and being disciplined,” Lopez said in the press conference.

“We see Palestine as a team that plays with bravery and power. We know their strengths, and we will do our best to deal with them. We have a lot of respect for them as a team, but we want to do everything to get the result,” he added.

In their third appearance in the competition, Palestine sneaked into the Round of 16 after an emphatic 3-0 victory over Hong Kong on the final matchday that helped them finish third in Group C and book their place in the knockout stage for the first time in their history.

Palestine’s head coach, Markam Daboub, expressed that there will be pressure in the match as it’s played on Qatar’s turf.

“We have been fully focused on qualifying and getting the first win in Palestine’s history in the Asian Cup, not thinking about whether we face Qatar or any other team. It was very important for us to be in the Round of 16, so we were prepared to face any team,” Daboub said.

“They are the home team and will have a lot of fans in the stadium, so there will be more pressure on them. We have already achieved our primary objective in this tournament so we will play with no pressure,” he said.

“We will do our best and play the same way we did in previous matches, keeping our upward trajectory. In 90 minutes of football, anything can happen,” he added.