Qatar will host Lebanon in the first match of the AFC Asian Cup on Friday. After post-pandemic legal limitations forced China to withdraw as host, Qatar was selected as the venue and will now host the tournament for the third time in its history.
Preview (Qatar vs. Lebanon)
As the defending champions, Qatar comes into the competition having won their first championship in the 2019 competition in Abu Dhabi with an unexpected victory over four-time winners Japan. But The Maroons have changed significantly since then. The Qatar Football Association (QFA) decided to sever ties with Spanish head coach Felix Sanchez. Following their World Cup group stage defeat and one point from their three group stage matches. Sanchez was replaced by Carlos Queiroz, who was supposed to guide the team to the 2026 World Cup. However, last month, the QFA chose to sever their relationship with the Portuguese manager. This is despite the team winning its first two World Cup qualifying matches.
The team’s manager for the AFC Asian Cup, Tintin Marquez, had a mixed start to life in his new position. After defeating Jordan 2-1 last week, the team defeated Cambodia 3-0 on New Year’s Eve. It included a 2-0 victory over them in the previous edition of this competition back in 2019. The new manager will nonetheless take some comfort from his team’s historic performance in this contest. Few people will ever forget the heartache Lebanon endured during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. They will be looking to atone for it.
Four years ago, The Cedars needed to defeat North Korea by four goals in their penultimate group-stage encounter. However, they fell by one goal in the opening ten minutes of the game. But Lebanon did not surrender easily and fought back, scoring four goals before the end of regulation. Nonetheless, they aim to triumph over Tajikistan, who are merely one position superior to them and are a formidable opponent for a Chinese team that has been inconsistent lately.
Team News
The QFA declared last week that Al Duhail forward Mohamed Muntari would miss the continental competition. He is ready for surgery after injuring his ankle in their warm-up encounter against Cambodia. Ismail Mohammed, Muntari’s teammate, was called up by Lopez to take his position. They were struck another cruel blow when Osama Al Tairi pulled out of the squad a few days before the competition began. Recently, Lebanon signed Sweden Under-19 attacker Leonardo Chahine. He had scored 18 goals in 33 games in the Swedish third division, to assist Hassan Maatouk in his attacking role.
The talented young player won’t be competing in the competition this year since the Lebanese Football Association was unable to finish his FIFA registration in time, even after finalizing the player’s passport. However, the squad managed to complete the paperwork for Daniel Lajud of Atalante in the Mexican second division and Omar Bugiel of AFC Wimbledon in time, and both will be available for selection on Friday.
Qatar 2-0 Lebanon
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