Hangzhou, China: Qatar coach Ildio Vale said he is proud of the performance displayed by his team despite the 0-0 draw against Palestine in Qatar's last group match at the football tournament in the Asian Games 2023. Qatar will now have to wait until the final round of the group and hope for an outcome that helps them to advance to the knockout stage alongside Japan, who will take on Palestine next. Vale, who already spoke about the short recovery time his team was given after playing Japan on Wednesday, had difficulty preparing his squad for the against Palestine tonight. His words were: "The difficulty in tonight's game was in preparing the players for a decisive matchup with only 48 hours of rest following the previous match; this certainly made it hard for us to balance things out and get the players in optimal condition before the match". Despite failing to score in a match that his team dominated thoroughly, the Portuguese tactician was proud of his players and the account they gave of themselves, "We entered the game with the intent of winning and securing qualification to the next stage; it was a tough game, and the bad weather certainly didn't help, but overall I am quite proud of my players for the grit and tenacity they have shown, we missed so many chances to score and should have won the match". Earlier this month, Qatar featured in the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ 2024 Qualifiers, where the maroons impressed and won all three matches against hosts Korea Republic, Myanmar and Kyrgyz Republic—but failed to replicate that form in the Asian Games. For Vale, it's all part of the learning process leading up to the main showdown next year when Qatar hosts the AFC U23 Asian Cup. "We played great football and won all three matches in the Asian Cup qualifiers in Korea earlier this month; indeed, our results in this competition up to now don't measure up to what we have achieved in the qualifying group, but it is fine, since its all part of the team's learning process and growth". Regarding the identity of Qatar's opponents in the round of sixteen in case the maroons qualified, he asserted that it's of no concern to him at the moment, stating," If we advance to the next stage, it doesn't matter who are we up against next, what matters is getting the result and ourselves ready for the match when time is due". The result placed Palestine in the second spot in the Group D standings with 1 point and behind leaders Japan, who beat Qatar with 3 points. Qatar, also with 1 point, are third due to a negative goal difference.