Wikipedia

Lebanon at the AFC Asian Cup

Lebanon have participated three times at the AFC Asian Cup. Their first participation came in 2000, when they hosted the tournament after healing from the Lebanese Civil War.[1] The 2019 edition was Lebanon's first participation via qualification.[2] Lebanon's most recent appearance was at the 2023 edition.[3]

Lebanon during the 2019 Asian Cup match against Saudi Arabia

Historically, Lebanon was considered one of the weakest Asian teams in football, proven by qualification results and lack of participation in the tournament.[4] Also, prior to the 2019 Asian Cup, they were the only Arab country, alongside Yemen, not to qualify to the Asian Cup through regular qualification. From the late 2010s, Lebanon's results improved. After having reached the final round of qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the team maintained a 15-game unbeaten streak from 2016 to 2018,[5][6] and qualified for the 2019 Asian Cup undefeated in the third round of qualifications.[7]

Lebanon have never qualified past the group stage in the Asian Cup, with them narrowly missing out on the knock-out stage in 2019 due to the fair play rule;[8] the eliminations in 2000 and 2019 involved teams from Southeast Asia, respectively Thailand and Vietnam.[8][9]

AFC Asian Cup record

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Lebanon were unable to qualify past the first round in their three appearances at the AFC Asian Cup. After a 4–0 defeat to Iran in 2000, Abbas Chahrour scored Lebanon's first goal of the tournament against Iraq in a 2–2 draw. In 2019, after losing against Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Lebanon achieved their first Asian Cup win against North Korea (4–1). However, they missed out on the round of 16 as, in the third-place ranking, Vietnam had accumulated less yellow-cards than Lebanon.[8] The 2023 edition was Lebanon's worst to date, only managing a draw against China and defeats against Tajikistan and hosts Qatar, finishing in last place in their group.[10]

2000 AFC Asian Cup

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In 2000, Lebanon hosted the Asian Cup despite concerns by FIFA regarding the stadiums' conditions.[1] Under coach Josip Skoblar,[11] Lebanon, captained by Jamal Taha,[12] were drawn into Group A alongside Iran, Iraq and Thailand; they finished last in the group with only two points; had Lebanon defeated Thailand in the final game, they would have qualified for the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams.[9]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Iran 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Iraq 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
3   Thailand 3 0 2 1 2 4 −2 2
4   Lebanon (H) 3 0 2 1 3 7 −4 2
Source: RSSSF
(H) Hosts
Lebanon  0–4  Iran
Report Bagheri   19'
Estili   75', 87'
Daei   90+1'
Attendance: 52,418
Referee: Lu Jun (China)
Lebanon  2–2  Iraq
Chahrour   28'
Hojeij   76'		 Report Jeayer   5', 22'
Attendance: 30,000
Lebanon  1–1  Thailand
Fernandes   83' Report Sakesan   58'
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Lu Jun (China)

2019 AFC Asian Cup

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On 9 January 2019, Lebanon played their first game against Qatar. In the 37th minute of play, Ali Hamam scored a goal for Lebanon only for it to be disallowed for a dubious foul on a Qatari player.[13][14] In the second half, two goals by the opposition without reply gave them all three points from the encounter.[15] Three days later, Lebanon lost to Saudi Arabia 2–0, sentencing Lebanon to their second defeat in the tournament.[16] In the final group stage game, played on 17 January against North Korea, Lebanon won their first Asian Cup game 4–1 with goals by Felix Michel Melki, Hassan Maatouk and a brace by Hilal El-Helwe. However, this wasn't enough to qualify Lebanon to the knock-out stages, as they lost out to Vietnam in the third-place ranking on the fairplay rule.[8]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Qatar 3 3 0 0 10 0 +10 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Saudi Arabia 3 2 0 1 6 2 +4 6
3   Lebanon 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
4   North Korea 3 0 0 3 1 14 −13 0
Source: AFC
Qatar  2–0  Lebanon
 Report
Attendance: 7,847
Referee: Ma Ning (China PR)
Lebanon  0–2  Saudi Arabia
Report
Attendance: 13,792
Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)
Lebanon  4–1  North Korea
 Report
Attendance: 4,332

2023 AFC Asian Cup

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Lebanon played the opening game of the tournament against hosts Qatar on 12 January 2024, in front of 82,490 spectators at Lusail Stadium.[17] Lebanon suffered a 3–0 defeat against the host nation.[17] A subsequent goalless draw with China left Lebanon needing a victory in the final match against Tajikistan to progress.[18] Bassel Jradi of Lebanon secured an early lead in the second half, but the momentum shifted when Kassem El Zein received a red card in the 52nd minute, reducing Lebanon to 10 players.[10] Tajikistan scored twice late in the game, eliminating Lebanon from the competition.[19] Lebanon finished last in their group with only one point.[10]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Qatar (H) 3 3 0 0 5 0 +5 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Tajikistan 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
3   China 3 0 2 1 0 1 −1 2
4   Lebanon 3 0 1 2 1 5 −4 1
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Qatar  3–0  Lebanon
 Report
Attendance: 82,490
Lebanon  0–0  China
Report
Attendance: 14,137
Tajikistan  2–1  Lebanon
 Report
Attendance: 11,843

Overview

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Tournaments

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  Champions    Runners-up    Third place  

AFC Asian Cup record Qualification record
Year Host Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pos. Pld W D L GF GA Ref.
1956 to 1968 Did not enter Did not enter —
1972   Thailand Did not qualify 2nd of 3, semi-final loss 3 1 0 2 4 7 [20]
1976   Iran Withdrew Withdrew [21]
1980   Kuwait Did not qualify 3rd of 4 3 1 1 1 2 1 [22]
1984   Singapore Withdrew Withdrew [23]
1988   Qatar Did not enter Did not enter —
1992   Japan —
1996   United Arab Emirates Did not qualify 2nd of 3 4 2 1 1 7 6 [24]
2000   Lebanon Group stage 3 0 2 1 3 7 Squad Qualified as hosts [25]
2004   China Did not qualify 3rd of 4 6 1 1 4 2 8 [26]
2007   Indonesia
  Malaysia
  Thailand
  Vietnam 		Withdrew Withdrew [27]
2011   Qatar Did not qualify Preliminary round win, 4th of 4 8 2 1 5 8 14 [28]
2015   Australia 3rd of 4 6 2 2 2 12 14 [29]
2019   United Arab Emirates Group stage 3 1 0 2 4 5 Squad 2nd of 5, 1st of 4 14 8 3 3 26 10 [30]
2023   Qatar Group stage 3 0 1 2 1 5 Squad 2nd of 5 6 3 1 2 11 8
2027   Saudi Arabia Ongoing Ongoing
Total Group stage 9 1 3 5 8 17 — 3/18 50 20 10 20 72 68 —

Matches

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Player records

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Hilal El-Helwe is Lebanon's top scorer and most-capped player in the competition, with two goals in six games.

Most appearances

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Rank Player Matches Asian Cups
1 Mohamad Haidar 6 2019, 2023
Hilal El-Helwe 6 2019, 2023
Hassan Maatouk 6 2019, 2023
Robert Alexander Melki 6 2019, 2023
5 Bassel Jradi 4 2019, 2023
Kassem El Zein 4 2019, 2023
7 18 players 3 2000, 2019, 2023
25 17 players 2 2000, 2019, 2023
42 8 players 1 2000, 2019, 2023

Goalscorers

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Player Goals 2000 2019 2023
Hilal El-Helwe 2 2
Abbas Chahrour 1 1
Luís Fernandes 1 1
Moussa Hojeij 1 1
Hassan Maatouk 1 1
George Felix Melki 1 1
Bassel Jradi 1 1
Total 8 3 4 1

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lebanon's Asian odyssey". The Guardian. 15 October 2000. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  2. ^ "How Lebanon qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup". Socceroos. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  3. ^ "Historic day for Lebanon". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Poor stadiums could cost Lebanon Asian Cup 2000". www.dailystar.com.lb. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  5. ^ MENAFN. "Kuwait edge win over Lebanon to break record unbeaten run". menafn.com. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Australia vs Lebanon international friendly preview, teams, Simon Hill analysis". Fox Sports. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  7. ^ "France, Belgium share first-ever joint FIFA ranking – Daily Trust". Daily Trust. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d "Group E: Lebanon 4-1 DPR Korea". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  9. ^ a b Stokkermans, Karel. "Asian Nations Cup 2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  10. ^ a b c "Tajikistan 2–1 Lebanon – Highlights". beIN Sports. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Lebanon - Squad Asian Cup 2000 Lebanon". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  12. ^ "JAMAL TAHA". www.abdogedeon.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  13. ^ Levy, Uri. "Asian Cup 2019: Qatar routs Lebanon in dramatic debut". alaraby. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Qatar vs Lebanon: Chiến thắng nhọc nhằn | Kết quả Asian Cup 2019". Thể thao 247 (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Group E: Qatar 2-0 Lebanon". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  16. ^ "Group E: Lebanon 0-2 Saudi Arabia". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  17. ^ a b McKirdy, Andrew (13 January 2024). "Qatar puts World Cup heartache behind it to win Asian Cup opener". The Japan Times. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  18. ^ "China and Lebanon settle for 0–0 draw to leave Asian Cup progress in the balance". The New Arab. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  19. ^ "China and Lebanon settle for 0–0 draw to leave Asian Cup progress in the balance". The New Arab. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  20. ^ Panahi, Majeed; Veroeveren, Pieter. "Asian Nations Cup 1972". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  21. ^ Jovanovic, Bojan; Panahi, Majeed; Zarei, Asghar; Veroeveren, Pieter. "Asian Nations Cup 1976". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  22. ^ Morrison, Neil; Jovanovic, Bojan; Panahi, Majeed; Veroeveren, Pieter. "Asian Nations Cup 1980". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  23. ^ Morrison, Neil; Panahi, Majeed; Veroeveren, Pieter. "Asian Nations Cup 1984". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  24. ^ Stokkermans, Karel. "Asian Nations Cup 1996". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  25. ^ Stokkermans, Karel. "Asian Nations Cup 2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  26. ^ Burkert, Sturmius; Cowlam, Glenn; Díaz Rubio, Julián; Hashim, Refel; Lee, Seungsoo; Naveed, Malik Riaz Hai; Saaid, Hamdan. "Asian Nations Cup 2004". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  27. ^ Zlotkowski, Andre; Naveed, Malik Riaz Hai. "Asian Nations Cup 2007". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  28. ^ King, Ian; Di Maggio, Roberto. "Asian Nations Cup 2011". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  29. ^ Di Maggio, Roberto; Zlotkowski, Andre. "Asian Nations Cup 2015". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  30. ^ Di Maggio, Roberto; Stokkermans, Karel. "Asian Nations Cup 2019". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
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