Mitchell Moses was left heartbroken as underdogs Lebanon came agonisingly close to a huge quarter-final upset against Tonga at the Rugby League World Cup.

Little had been expected of Lebanon in only their second appearance at the global showpiece, and heavy defeats to England and Australia in the group stages came as no surprise.

Their win over France put them into the last eight, though, and they almost caused a huge shock against the impressive Tongan side who beat New Zealand to top Group B, but came up just short.

"I'm pretty heartbroken at the moment," said Moses, who kicked three of his four conversions. "The boys dug deep and stayed in the game for the 80 minutes.

"Every single player in that [Tonga] team has a full-time contract, and there's probably five of us that do – to see how hard the boys worked and to be pulled up in that manner, it's pretty heartbreaking."

A thrilling opening half saw Tonga run in four tries in Christchurch, but Lebanon stayed within six points thanks to Adam Doueihi, James Elias and Abbas Miski.

They got their converted try in the second half as Miski crossed again, but Ata Hingano's 53rd-minute penalty proved decisive as Tonga hung on to win 24-22 and reach the last four.