Palestinian hopes of a World Cup place were dashed on Thursday when its team could only draw 2-2 with Thailand, who reached the third round of the Asian qualifiers with a 3-2 aggregate victory.
For the Palestinians, the highest-profile match to be played on home soil put a disappointing end to a World Cup qualifying campaign that had become a symbol of nation building.
The team was always a long shot to make it all the way to the finals in Brazil in 2014. But a victory over Afghanistan in the first round and their first-ever hosting of a World Cup qualifier had locals dreaming.
Palestine is the only one of FIFA's 208 members which is not a U.N. recognized state. Its athletes often need Israeli permits to travel - either to cross Israel from Gaza or to enter or leave the West Bank.
More than 5,000 fans erupted in the third minute with chants of ''Palestine, Palestine,'' after striker Murad Eleyan put the home side 1-0 up.
Thailand's Datsakorn Thonglao equalized in the 33rd minute, only for Eleyan gave the fans fresh hope of a surprise victory by restoring the Palestinians' lead in the 90th minute.
But with the away goals rule still counting against Eleyan and his team mates after their 1-0 defeat in the away leg, Thonglao made sure of Thailand's place in the next round with another strike in stoppage time.
Their hopes dashed, fans pelted the field with bottles of water after Thonglao's second goal.
''We are very disappointed because we wanted to win and qualify but we have played against a strong team,'' Palestinian coach Musa Bazaz said. ''We started very well but in the second half we were not good at the beginning. At the end we scored a goal but we were very late.''
Younis Abu-Lail, a 17-year-old fan, left the stadium in tears.
''I came here with a dream that Palestine would qualify,'' he said. ''It would have been good for us.''
