History of the Lebanon national football team

1972 AFC Asian Cup Qualifying Campaign

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Kuwait	3	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1
Lebanon	2	2	1	0	1	3	3	0
Syria	1	2	0	1	1	4	5	−1

The first Asian Cup qualifying campaign for the Lebanese team was in the 1972 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, under their first qualifying manager Joseph Abou Murad. They met Bahrain to decide whether to be placed in group A or B. Lebanon lost 0–3 to Bahrain in Kuwait, so they had been placed at group B. In their first respective group, they lost to the host Kuwait 0–1, but later, they defeated their traditional rival Syria 3–2 in a top hard match. They earned 2 points, and qualified to the next round.

In a decisive semi-final match against Iraq, Lebanon lost 1–4. So, despite the 2–0 victory against Jordan in the third place match, Lebanon failed to qualify for its first AFC Asian Cup.

1980 AFC Asian Cup Qualifying Campaign

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Syria	3	2	1	0	2	0	+2	5
United Arab Emirates	3	1	2	0	2	0	+2	4
Lebanon	3	1	1	1	2	1	+1	3
Bahrain	3	0	0	3	0	5	−5	0

Despite the Lebanese civil war, Lebanon appeared in the 1980 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, held in Abu Dhabi. Their first match was against the host United Arab Emirates, which ended in a 0–0 draw. Suddenly, Bahrain withdrew from the tournament (not accepted by the AFC), granting Lebanon a 2–0 win. But Lebanon failed to win the last match and lost to its traditional rival Syria 0–1, and was out of the competition.

1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Campaign

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	South Korea	8	7	1	0	23	1	+22	15
2	Bahrain	8	3	3	2	9	6	+3	9
3	Lebanon	8	2	4	2	8	9	−1	8
4	Hong Kong	8	2	1	5	9	19	−10	5
5	India	8	1	1	6	8	22	−14	3

Lebanon's first official World Cup campaign after the Lebanese civil war was in the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers when they were drawn with Hong Kong, South Korea, Bahrain and India, and the first leg would be held in Beirut, so they hired Adnan Al-Shargi as their national team coach. In the first match against India, Lebanon failed to win and settled to a 2–2 draw thanks to Babkin Melikian and Jamal Taha's goals. Lebanon also got that result after playing Hong Kong thanks to Rafi Joulfagi and Fadi Alloush's goals. Then, Lebanon lost 0–1 to South Korea and drew 0–0 to Bahrain, ending the first leg without a single win. In the second leg in Seoul, South Korea, Lebanon also drew 0–0 to Bahrain, but lost 0–2 to the host South Korea. After two losses and four draws, Lebanon finally had two wins against Hong Kong thanks to Youssef Farhat and Wael Nazha's goals, and against India by Hassan Ayoub and Rafi Joulfagi's goals. Lebanon finished in 3rd place and was eliminated.

1996 AFC Asian Cup Qualifying Campaign

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Kuwait	8	4	2	2	0	9	5	+4
Lebanon	7	4	2	1	1	7	6	+1
Turkmenistan	1	4	0	1	3	3	8	−5

Under the Welsh manager Terry Yorath, the first foreign manager to lead the team after the Lebanese civil war, Lebanon began its first official post-war Asian campaign to qualify for the 1996 AFC Asian Cup. Their first opponent was Turkmenistan and the game was set in Beirut. Over 10,000 fans cheered for Lebanon in this match. After Konstantin Bondoyev took the shocking lead for Turkmenistan, three goals from Wael Nazha, Jamal Taha and Chadi Karnib granted Lebanon a 3–1 win. Few days later, in Ashgabat, Wartan Ghazarian gave the visitors a 1–0 win. Their most memorable moment was against Kuwait, where Lebanon lost 3–5 in Beirut in front of 22,000 spectators. Nazha and Ghazarian helped the host lead 2–0 before Faysal al-Otaybi, Khaled al-Shlimi and Abdulaziz al-Hindi scored 3 goals and gave the visitors a 3–2 lead. Ghazarian once again scored and tied the result to 3–3, but Badr Haji and Abdullah Wabran's goals helped Kuwait winning a significant 5–3 win. In Kuwait City, Lebanon drew 0–0 to Kuwait, and was eliminated from the competition with one point behind.

1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Campaign

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Kuwait	4	4	0	0	10	1	9	12
2	Lebanon	4	1	1	2	4	7	−3	4
3	Singapore	4	0	1	3	2	8	−6	1

Lebanon was drawn to the group that included Kuwait and Singapore in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in the Asian zone. Led by Terry Yorath, Lebanon played their opening match against Singapore in Bourj Hammoud Stadium which ended in a 1–1 draw with Wael Nazha scoring for Lebanon in the 49th minute and Zulkarnaen Zalnal in the 88th minute for Singapore. Failing to win over the ASEAN side, Lebanon suffered also a 0–2 loss to Kuwait in Kuwait City with Jasem Al Huwaidi and Fawaz Al Ahmad scoring for the Kuwaiti side. In its next match against Singapore which hosted the game, over 14,000 spectators came to cheer for the host. Despite this fact, Lebanon took the lead by Abdulfattah Shehab's goal until Chuan Tan Teng equalized for the host from a penalty kick in the 58th minute. But Babkin Melikian helped the visitors securing a 2–1 win in the Singaporean National Stadium. Unfortunately, on its last match in Beirut, Lebanon suffered a 1–3 loss with Babkin Melikian scoring the lebanese side's only goal. After the end of the qualification campaign, Lebanon was out with four points.

1998 Asian Games

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Qatar	6	3	2	0	1	3	3	0
Thailand	4	3	1	1	1	3	3	0
Kazakhstan	4	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1
Lebanon	3	3	1	0	2	3	2	+1

Lebanon made its debut in the 1998 Asian Games when they were drawn in group B of preliminary round with China and Cambodia. Coach Terry Yorath brought the under-23 team to the competition. Their first match was against China where they lost 1–4. They qualified to the second round after their 5–1 victory to Cambodia.

In the second round, they were drawn to group 4 with the host Thailand, Qatar and Kazakhstan. They lost two matches against Qatar and Thailand with both ending 0–1. Despite of being eliminated, Lebanon had stormed the Central Asian side Kazakhstan 3–0, and finished last with only 3 points.

2000 AFC Asian Cup

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Iran	7	3	2	1	0	6	1	+5
Iraq	4	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1
Thailand	2	3	0	2	1	2	4	−2
Lebanon	2	3	0	2	1	3	7	−4

Lebanon hosted the 2000 AFC Asian Cup. Under Croatian coach Josip Skoblar, Lebanon was drawn into Group A alongside Iran, Iraq and Thailand. On 12 October, Lebanon faced Iran where they found themselves 1–0 down after a Karim Bagheri goal on the 19th minute. A Hamid Estili second-half double and another goal from Ali Daei secured a 4–0 win for Iran.^[2] On 15 October, Lebanon faced Iraq in Beirut where Sabah Jaeer Khalaf scored two goals in 22 minutes for Iraq. Abbas Chahrour scored for Lebanon on the 28th minute before Moussa Hojeij equalized on the 76th minute for a 2–2 draw.^[3] On 18 October, Lebanon went behind in their last group-stage fixture when Seksan Piturat scored for Thailand on the 58th minute. Luís Fernandez equalized for the home side on the 83rd minute as the match resulted in a 1–1 draw.^[4] Lebanon finished last in the group with only two points.

2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Campaign

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Thailand	6	5	1	0	20	5	+15	16
Lebanon	6	4	1	1	26	5	+21	13
Sri Lanka	6	1	1	4	8	20	−12	4
Pakistan	6	0	1	5	5	29	−24	1

Under the German coach Theo Bücker Lebanon was drawn with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand in the first round of the qualifiers. On 13 May 2001, at the Municipal Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon defeated Pakistan 6–0. The result included a hat-trick by Haitham Zein.^[5] On 15 May, Lebanon hosted Sri Lanka where they would beat the visitors 4–0 with two goals from Roda Antar and one each from Moussa Hojeij and Mohammad Kassas.^[6] On 17 May, Lebanon found itself with a 1–0 lead after 9 minutes when Roda Antar netted for the home side. Seksan Piturat and Kiatisuk Senamuang would then both score for Thailand to give them a 2–1 win.^[7] With the next three fixtures staged in Bangkok, Lebanon stormed to an 8–1 win against Pakistan with Wartan Ghazarian, Roda Antar and Gilberto dos Santos all scoring two goals each.^[8] Lebanon would then score five goals past Sri Lanka two days later on 28 May.^[9] On 30 May, second placed Lebanon needed three points from their final group-stage fixture against first placed Thailand to advance to the second round. Lebanon took the lead on the 35th minute when Wartan Ghazarian scored. Lebanon held that lead until Thailand scored on the 73rd minute and again on the 77th minute. Moussa Hojeij equalized for Lebanon on the 87th minute as the match finished 2–2.^[10]

2004 AFC Asian Cup Qualifying Campaign

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Iran	15	6	5	0	1	16	5	+11
Jordan	15	6	5	0	1	13	6	+7
Lebanon	4	6	1	1	4	2	8	−6
North Korea	1	6	0	1	5	2	14	−12

Under the French coach Richard Tardy, Lebanon was drawn in Group D of the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. They faced Iran, Jordan and North Korea. On 4 September 2003, Lebanon faced North Korea in Pyongyang. A goal from Buddy Farah saw Lebanon defeat the home side 1–0. It was reported that prior to the Lebanon-North Korea fixture the Lebanese camp had been mistreated as hotel conditions were very poor and their training field contained goats and sheep.^[11] Lebanon was defeated by Jordan on 17 October before drawing 1–1 with North Korea in Lebanon on 3 November. Lebanon then went on to lose its next three games, a 2–0 defeat to Jordan on 12 November, a 3–0 home defeat to Iran on 19 November, and a 1–0 away defeat in Iran saw Lebanon finish in third place of its respective group having only claimed four points.

2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Campaign

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  South Korea 6 4 2 0 9 2 +7 14  Lebanon 6 3 2 1 11 5 +6 11  Vietnam 6 1 1 4 5 9 −4 4  Maldives 6 1 1 4 5 14 −9 4

South Korea  – 2–0 2–0 2–0 Lebanon  1–1 – 3–0 0–0 Maldives  0–0 2–5 – 3–0 Vietnam  1–2 0–2 4–0 –

Lebanon was drawn into the second round of the qualifiers where they were grouped with South Korea, Vietnam and Maldives. Coach Mahmoud Hamoud took with him a team of domestic based players to Suwon where Lebanon faced South Korea on 18 February 2004. Lebanon was without captain Roda Antar for the fixture. Lebanon could have taken the lead on the 30th minute where they had won a penalty kick, however, Lee Woon-Jae saved the spot kick. Goals from Cha Du-Ri and Cho Byung-Kuk gave South Korea a 2–0 win.^[12] Lebanon then faced Vietnam in Nam Dinh on 31 March, with two late second-half goals from Roda Antar and Khaled Hamieh on the 83rd and 88th minutes sealed a 2–0 victory.^[13] On 9 June, Lebanon faced Maldives at the Municipal Stadium in Beirut. Both Haitham Zein and Roda Antar scored in the 3–0 win before the 81st minute substitute Ali Nasseredine added the third just twelve minutes after entering the field.^[14] On 8 September, Lebanon played the return-leg against Malvides at the Rasmee Dhandu Stadium in Malé. Ali Nasseredine opened the scoring after four minutes, then Faisal Antar would also score to give Lebanon a 2–0 half-time lead. Another goal from Nasseredine and two from Mahmoud Chahoud and Roda Antar brought the score-line to 5–0 before Maldives grabbed two late goals to finish the game at 5–2.^[15] On 13 October, Lebanon hosted South Korea in Beirut. Second placed Lebanon had gained 9 points going into their second last game, where as South Korea, who were on top of the group, had gained 10 points. South Korea defender Choi Jin-Cheul scored on the 8th minute. On the 28th minute a back pass played to South Korea's Lee Woon-Jae was fumbled allowing Ali Nasseredine to equalize by passing the ball into an un-guarded net.^[16] The 1–1 draw was insufficient for Lebanon to proceed to the third round when on the last day of the qualifiers, Lebanon drew 0–0 with Vietnam in Beirut as South Korea would beat Maldives 2–0 in Seoul to progress to the next round.^[17]

2007 AFC Asian Cup Qualifying Campaign

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Australia	9	4	3	0	1	7	3	+4
Bahrain	4	4	1	1	2	3	6	−3
Kuwait	4	4	1	1	2	3	4	−1
Lebanon	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Lebanon was drawn into Group D for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign with Australia, Bahrain and Kuwait. The scheduled meeting of Australia and Lebanon made Buddy Farah declare his return to the national side.^[18] On 22 February 2006, Lebanon hosted Kuwait at Beirut's Municipal Stadium. On the 25th minute, Kuwait's Fahad Al Fahad opened the scoring for the visitors before Ali Nasseredine headed into the net from a set-piece to level the scores on the 70th minute. Prior to Lebanon's fixture with Bahrain on 16 August 2006, it was announced on 1 August that the AFC had accepted a withdrawal request from the Federation Libanaise de Football due to the 2006 Lebanon War, which forced several players to leave their homes to evade the war.^[19][20][21] The results of the Lebanon-Kuwait game were declared null and void and did not count towards the group rankings.

2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Campaign

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Uzbekistan 6 5 0 1 17 7 +10 15  Saudi Arabia 6 5 0 1 15 5 +10 15  Singapore 6 2 0 4 7 16 −9 6  Lebanon 6 0 0 6 3 14 −11 0

Lebanon  – 1 – 2 1 – 2 0 – 1 Saudi Arabia  4 – 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 0 Singapore  2 – 0 0 – 3* – 3 – 7 Uzbekistan  3 – 0 3 – 0 3 – 0* –

Note: The positions of Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia are reversed from the original final standings after two matches were forfeited by Singapore and became 3 – 0 defeats as a result of them fielding an ineligible player.

Lebanon was seeded into the first round of the qualifiers where they faced India in a bid to qualify directly for the third round of the qualifiers. On 8 October 2007, Lebanon hosted India in Saida. After a 30th-minute goal from India's Sunil Chhetri, goals from Roda Antar, Mahmoud El Ali and two from Mohammed Ghaddar helped Lebanon secure a 4–1 win.^[22] Ghaddar would score another two goals in the return-leg as both sides drew 2–2 in Goa on 30 October.^[23] Lebanon won 6–3 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.^[24] The campaign saw the absence of defender Youssef Mohamad who reportedly had a disagreement with Lebanon's assistant coach Adnan Meckdache where he had intensely criticized the Lebanese Football Federation and the national team coach. He was suspended by the Football Federation and would be allowed to return on the condition that he would apologize to the Lebanese F.A and its national team coach for the critical stance. Lebanon was then grouped with Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Uzbekistan. On 6 February 2008, Lebanon was defeated 1–0 by Uzbekistan in Beirut as Uzbek striker Odil Ahmedov had put the visitors in front on the 44th minute.^[25][26] Lebanon then went on to lose 2–0 to Singapore on 26 March, and 4–1 to Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on 2 June, having been 1–0 in front after Mahmoud El Ali scored on the 43rd minute.^[27][28] Lebanon's following fixture with Saudi Arabia was moved from Beirut to Riyadh where on 7 June, Saudi Arabia would narrowly win 2–1 with two goals in each half from Saudi striker Redha Tukar before Mohammed Ghaddar grabbed a consolation goal on the 93rd minute.^[29] Having been already eliminated from the third-round, Lebanon was defeated 3–0 by Uzbekistan in Tashkent on 14 June.^[30][31] On 22 June, at Beirut's Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Lebanon took a 1–0 lead when Singapore defender Baihakki Khaizan netted an Own goal. Lebanon's Ramez Dayoub scored an own goal at the other end on the 72nd minute before John Wilkinson gave the visitors a 2–1 victory.^[32]

2011 AFC Asian Cup Qualifying Campaign

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Syria 6 4 2 0 10 2 +8 14  China PR 6 4 1 1 13 5 +8 13  Vietnam 6 1 2 3 6 11 −5 5  Lebanon 6 0 1 5 2 13 −11 1

China PR  – 1–0 0–0 6–1 Lebanon  0–2 – 0–2 1–1 Syria  3–2 4–0 – 0–0 Vietnam  1–2 3–1 0–1 –

Lebanon and Maldives, the two lowest ranked AFC teams, played home-and-away matches in the preliminary round in April 2008, where the winner would proceed to the next round of the qualifiers. On 9 April, Lebanon cruised to a 4–0 home win with goals coming from Mahmoud El Ali, Ali Yaacoub, Abbas Ahmed Atwi and Mohammed Ghaddar all in the first half.^[33] On the return-leg, goals from Mohamad Korhani and Nasrat Al Jamal helped Lebanon secure a 2–1 win at the Rasmee Dhandu Stadium in Malé on 23 April.^[34][35] Lebanon was then drawn into Group D of the qualifiers along with China, Syria and Vietnam. On 14 January 2009, Lebanon was defeated 3–1 by Vietnam in Hanoi.^[36] Lebanon went on to face three consecutive defeats without scoring a single goal, having lost 2–0 to Syria on 28 January, 2–0 to China in Beirut on 14 November, and 1–0 again to China in Hangzhou on 22 November.^[37][38] With two group-stage fixtures remaining, Lebanon hosted Vietnam at the International Stadium in Saida on 6 January 2010. Mahmoud El Ali opened the scoring for Lebanon on the 20th minute before Pham Thanh Luong equalized on the 40th minute. The match resulted in a 1–1 draw. In Lebanon's last group-stage match, they travelled to Damascus where they faced a 4–0 defeat by Syria at the Abbasiyyin Stadium on 3 March.

2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Campaign

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Iran 8 5 1 2 8 2 +6 16  South Korea 8 4 2 2 13 7 +6 14  Uzbekistan 8 4 2 2 11 6 +5 14  Qatar 8 2 1 5 5 13 −8 7  Lebanon 8 1 2 5 3 12 −9 5

Iran  — 4–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 Lebanon  1–0 — 0–1 1–1 1–1 Qatar  0–1 1–0 — 1–4 0–1 South Korea  0–1 3–0 2–1 — 1–0 Uzbekistan  0–1 1–0 5–1 2–2 —

Under coach Emile Rustom, who was re-appointed as head coach of the national team on 5 May 2011, Lebanon were drawn into the second round of the qualifiers where they faced Bangladesh. Lebanon defeated Bangladesh 4–0 in Beirut on 23 July, before losing 2–0 in Dhaka five days later.^[39][40] Lebanon advanced to the third round of qualifiers where they were grouped with South Korea, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates, just under one week later Emile Rustom resigned as head coach, citing obstacles such as internal administrative problems as the reason for his departure.^{[41][42][43][44]}

On 8 August 2011, it was reported that Theo Bücker was announced as Lebanon's new head coach. The former national team manager took over the reins nine years after leaving the position, bringing with him the intention of looking to "showcase Lebanese talent and give a good account of the game in the country."^[45][46]

Prior to Lebanon's opening fixture against South Korea, it was reported by Lebanese website sports-leb.com that Youssef Mohamad had traveled to Goyang to join the squad for the match and that Roda Antar was to miss the first game of the qualifiers but would be included in the match against the UAE in Beirut on 6 September. On match-day-1, three goals from Park Chu-Young saw South Korea defeat Lebanon 6–0 at the Goyang Stadium.^[47][48] Lebanon had rarely threatened and were reduced mainly to speculative attempts from long-distance. Theo Bucker stated that "More than coming here to win, we came to prepare for the next game," indicating that he was more concerned about getting a result against United Arab Emirates and Kuwait in order to progress to the next round.^[49][50]

Four days later, Lebanon came back from a goal down to beat the United Arab Emirates 3–1 on 6 September. After UAE striker Mahmoud Khamees put the visitors in front after 15 minutes, Lebanon replied with goals from Mohammed Ghaddar, Akram Moghrabi and Roda Antar, who was awarded the man of the match.^{[51][52][53][54]}

Lebanon then hosted Kuwait in Beirut on 11 October, Hassan Maatouk scored after 15 minutes, giving Lebanon a 1–0 lead until the 50th minute, where Kuwait's Musaed Neda equalized with a header. With six minutes left to go, Kuwait's Hussain Fadel brought down Akram Moghrabi in the penalty area, Maatouk scored his second goal after converting the penalty to give Lebanon a 2–1 lead. However, Lebanon's Mahmoud Baquir Younes allowed the Kuwaitis to come away with a point after scoring into his own net only two minutes later. After the 2–2 draw, Bucker stated "If we had equalized in the last minute we would be happy".^{[55][56][57][58]} Approximately 32,000 spectators were present at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, for the first time since 2005 when the Lebanese FA had barred fans from entering the stadiums due to bad behaviour. Bad behaviour from the fans, mostly related to playing with fireworks, was again the case against Kuwait as it forced Japanese referee Masaaki Toma into stopping the game on numerous occasions.^[59] Masaaki was forced to stop the game twice after a supporter shined a laser pen at the Kuwaiti goalkeeper. The halt in play that accumulated to around 10 minutes broke up Lebanon's rhythm where the Lebanese players looked tired after their break and momentum was lost. Masaaki called in his assistants to suspend play as the stadium's announcer and Lebanon's captain Roda Antar remonstrated with the fans. The game recommenced six minutes later before coming to a halt again, if only for two minutes as officials lambasted one another on the touchline, with nearly 70 minutes on the clock.^[60]

On 11 November, Lebanon beat Kuwait 1–0 with a goal scored by Mahmoud El Ali at the 57 minutes mark at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Kuwait City. It was shocked entire of Kuwait and Lebanon, marked for the first time ever Kuwait lost to Lebanon at home soil.

On 15 November 2011 Lebanon hosted South Korea at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut. Over 40,000 spectators were present to cheer for the Lebanese national team. After 4 minutes Lebanon took the lead by Ali Al Saadi, 11 minutes later Korea equalized the scoreline by a penalty kick. At the 30 minute of the match Lebanon was given a penalty kick after Mahmoud El Ali was tackled inside the penalty area. Lebanon then took the lead after Abbas Ali Atwi perfectly delivered the ball into the net from the penalty spot and giving Lebanon a 2–1 victory for the first time in history against South Korea.

On 29 February 2012, Lebanon suffered a 4–2 loss to the United Arab Emirates in which Mahmoud El Ali and Hassan Maatouk netted for the visitors. Despite the defeat, they made it for the first time in their history to the fourth and final qualifying round.

Prior to the fourth round of qualifiers, Theo Bucker dismissed speculation which claimed that he would be sacked as coach of the Cedars, despite leading the side to a historic fourth-round place in the qualifiers. Bucker was criticized for his decision to select Europe-based keeper Abbas Hassan, who made an error against UAE in Lebanon's last third-round match, ahead of regular Ziad Al-Samad. "The president has all the understanding with me and agrees with me 100 percent that now based on the achievements of the last six months we should find for Lebanon football the right system of going forward, of implementing a different system". Bucker also revealed he had been approached by many other parties with job offers, but refused because of his love to Lebanon and its people, and his faith in Lebanese football.^[61][62] Lebanon was drawn in Group 1 of the Fourth Round along with: Korea Republic, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Qatar. On the first match, they lost 0–1 against Qatar at home by Sebastian Soria's goal by Ramez Dayoub's mistake. Ramez Dayoub later was blamed for Lebanon's defeat and sometimes he was suspected to be sold by Qatar.

In their second match against Uzbekistan, the team managed to get a point out of the game after a 1–1 draw, Ali Al Saadi scoring for Lebanon from a free kick. On 12 June, they travel to Goyang once again, and lost 0–3 against the host South Korea again.

A first-half Roda Antar goal gave Lebanon a 1–0 win over Iran in a World Cup qualifier in Beirut Tuesday, to keep The Cedars' faint hopes of scrapping through to Brazil in 2014.

Antar rose above the Iranian defense to head home a free kick from Mohammad Haidar in the 28th minute, giving Lebanon its first goal ever in against Iran. It proved to be the winner as Lebanon defended well for the rest of the game to deny the Iranians and claim all three points in the Asian Group A.

Lebanon goalkeeper Abbas Hassan, selected and promoted by German goalkeeper coach Christian Schweichler and coach Theo Bücker, was in inspired form throughout the 90 minutes, produced a string of fine acrobatic saves in the closing stages as Iran threw everything forward. The headband-wearing goalkeeper, who was shown a yellow card for time-wasting, even produced a 95th-minute excellent stop from Mohammad Ghazi's strong header.

The Iranians dominated possession in the second half and Mohammad Nori almost drew his team level when his header was just cleared off the Lebanon goal line in the 62nd minute.^[63]

On 26 February 2013, national team players Ramez Dayoub and Mahmoud El Ali were involved in the 2013 Lebanese match fixing scandal and had been accused of illegal betting on several national and continental matches concerning Lebanese teams and the national team and manipulating results. Both players received a fine of USD$15,000 and were banned for life from the Fédération Libanaise de Football Association.^[64]

The Lebanese dream was nearly over after a dramatic loss to Uzbekistan 0–1 at road. The following match witnessed a possible comeback for the Lebanese side, as they hosted South Korea in Beirut, and they were leading 1–0 until a shocking equalizer from the visitors in the 97th minute. At that moment, Lebanon was officially out. They lost 0–4 in their last Match in Iran, where Bucker selected a starting line-up based on new faces.

2015 AFC Asian Cup Qualifying Campaign

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Iran 6 5 1 0 18 5 +13 16  Kuwait 6 2 3 1 10 7 +3 9  Lebanon 6 2 2 2 12 14 −2 8  Thailand 6 0 0 6 7 21 −14 0

Iran  — 3–2 5–0 2–1 Kuwait  1–1 — 0–0 3–1 Lebanon  1–4 1–1 — 5–2 Thailand  0–3 1–3 2–5 —

Lebanon trying to qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup were drawn into group B with Iran, Thailand, and Kuwait. Lebanon lost their first match with Iran in Tehran ended in a 5–0 loss. However they reached redemption by defeating Thailand 5–2 in Beirut with 2 goals from Hassan Chaito and goals from Mohamad Haidar, Hassan Maatouk, and Abbas Ali Atwi. In matchday 3, Mohammad Ghaddar scored the equalizer against Kuwait in Beirut to earn a point for Lebanon who are still fighting for a place in Australia. It was the first official match for the new Italian coach Giannini, as he showed his great tactical touches in the second half that was totally dominated by his side. On Match day 4 Lebanon once again faced Kuwait which also ended in a draw for them. On the next match day, Lebanon suffered a crushing defeat to Iran, losing 4–1 in Beirut, leaving the team with faint hopes of getting a place in Australia. In their final game against Thailand, Lebanon again defeated them 5–2 in Bangkok, however, Iraq had beaten China 3–1. So although Lebanon and China had the same points, China had a higher goal difference than Lebanon by one goal, meaning China would go to Australia as the best third placed team, and Lebanon not getting a place in Australia. But still, the Lebanese considered that was one of their greatest results in the Lebanon's history since the 1996 qualifying. Some people considered the current Lebanese national team had the same like Bosnian team due to Bosnia was so close to qualify to 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 (losing to Portugal both).

2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Campaign

Lebanon was drawn into a group containing Asia's runners-up South Korea, Kuwait, Myanmar and Laos. It would be the second time that Lebanon has faced South Korea and Kuwait in World Cup Qualifiers.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	8	8	0	0	27	0	+27	24	Third round and Asian Cup		—	1–0	3–0[lower-alpha 1]	4–0	8–0
2	Lebanon	8	3	2	3	12	6	+6	11	Asian Cup qualifying third round		0–3	—	0–1	1–1	7–0
3	Kuwait[lower-alpha 1]	8	3	1	4	12	10	+2	10			0–1	0–0	—	9–0	0–3[lower-alpha 1]
4	Myanmar	8	2	2	4	9	21	−12	8			0–2	0–2	3–0[lower-alpha 1]	—	3–1
5	Laos	8	1	1	6	6	29	−23	4	Asian Cup qualifying play-off round		0–5	0–2	0–2	2–2	—

2019 AFC Asian Cup Qualifying Campaign

Ranking of Runner-up teams

To determine the four best runner-up teams, the following criteria are used:

1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
2. Goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Fair play points
5. Drawing of lots

As a result of Indonesia being disqualified due to FIFA suspension, Group F contains only four teams compared to five teams in all other groups. Therefore, the results against the fifth-placed team are not counted when determining the ranking of the runner-up teams.^[65]

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	F	Iraq	6	3	3	0	13	6	+7	12	Third round and Asian Cup
2	E	Syria	6	4	0	2	14	11	+3	12
3	A	United Arab Emirates	6	3	2	1	16	4	+12	11
4	C	China PR	6	3	2	1	9	1	+8	11
5	H	North Korea	6	3	1	2	10	8	+2	10	Asian Cup qualifying third round
6	B	Jordan	6	3	1	2	9	7	+2	10
7	D	Oman	6	2	2	2	6	6	0	8
8	G	Lebanon	6	1	2	3	3	6	−3	5

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Counting only matches against teams ranked first to fourth in the group, 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Fair play points; 5) Drawing of lots.

Third Round

Main article: 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification – Third Round

The draw for the third round was held on 23 January 2017, 16:00 GST, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.^[66] The 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four.^[67]

The draw put Lebanon in Group B along with North Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Lebanon won 2−0 against Hong Kong on 28 March 2017^[68] and 2−1 against Malaysia on 13 June,^[69] but barely achieved a 2−2 draw against North Korea with a last minute goal by Hassan Maatouk on 5 September 2017.^[70] On 10 October 2017, Lebanon defeated North Korea 5−0,^[71] to be on the brink of qualification to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. On 10 November 2017, North Korea defeated Malaysia 4−1, which confirmed Lebanon's qualification for the first time (after qualifying as a host in the year 2000 which was the only previous time Lebanon participated in the event). On 14 November 2017, Lebanon defeated Hong Kong 1−0,^[72] to continue its journey through the third round of the qualifiers undefeated, only days after winning a friendly match against Singapore by the same result.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Lebanon	6	5	1	0	14	4	+10	16	2019 AFC Asian Cup		—	5–0	2–0	2–1
2	North Korea	6	3	2	1	13	10	+3	11			2–2	—	2–0	4–1
3	Hong Kong	6	1	2	3	4	7	−3	5			0–1	1–1	—	2–0
4	Malaysia	6	0	1	5	5	15	−10	1			1–2	1–4	1–1	—

Source: AFC