Odtnhj

Lebanon

Nickname(s)	منتخب الأرز Les cèdres (The Cedars)
Association	Lebanon Football Association (الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	WAFF (West Asia)
Head coach	Miodrag Radulović
Captain	Hassan Maatouk
Most caps	Abbas Atwi (84)
Top scorer	Roda Antar (20)
Home stadium	Various
FIFA code	LIB
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	81 (20 December 2018)[1]
Highest	77 (September 2018)
Lowest	178 (April – May 2011)
Elo ranking
Current	91 3 (20 December 2018)[2]
Highest	46 (27 April 1940)
Lowest	164 (28 July 2011)
First international
Pre-independence  Mandatory Palestine 5–1 Greater Lebanon  (Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine; 27 April 1940) Post-independence  Syria 0–0 Lebanon  (Alexandria, Egypt; 1 August 1953)
Biggest win
Lebanon 8–1 Pakistan  (Bangkok, Thailand; 26 May 2001)  Lebanon 7–0 Laos  (Sidon, Lebanon; 12 November 2015)
Biggest defeat
China PR 6–0 Lebanon  (Chongqing, China; 3 July 2004)  Lebanon 6–0 Kuwait  (Beirut, Lebanon; 2 July 2011)  South Korea 6–0 Lebanon  (Goyang, South Korea; 2 September 2011)
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 2000)
Best result	Group stage (2000)

The Lebanese national football team,^[A] controlled by the Lebanon Football Association (LFA), has officially represented Lebanon in association football since their inception in 1933. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in Asia by the AFC. Other than the successful qualification for the 2019 edition of the Asian Cup, Lebanon have never qualified for a major competition through the regular qualification process (although they have hosted the 2000 Asian Cup). Lebanon mainly plays their home games at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut, but can also be seen playing at the Saida International Stadium in Sidon as well as in various other stadiums throughout the country.

While their first FIFA recognized game was played in 1940, Lebanon have disputed various unofficial matches prior, with the first one being against Romanian side T.A.C. in 1934. During the 2014 qualification campaign for the World Cup, Lebanon managed to reach the final stage for the first time in its history thanks to a famous 2–1 win over South Korea at home in 2011; however, the Lebanese team would fail to qualify for the World Cup coming last in its group in the fourth round. Lebanon also competes in various minor tournaments, namely the WAFF Championship, the Arab Nations Cup, at which they achieved a third-place finish in the first edition, hosted by Lebanon itself, and the Pan Arab Games, where they managed two third-place finishes in both times the competitions were hosted in Lebanon.

Taking inspiration from their national symbol, the Lebanese team is known as The Cedars (منتخب الأرز) by fans and media alike; they mainly wear red for their home kit and white for their away in reference to the colours of their national flag, with the green being used for the goalkeeper's kit. Following a steady decrease in the FIFA ranking from 1998 to 2016, in the last two years Lebanon jumped 66 positions, from 147th in 2016 to 81st in 2018, during which Lebanon achieved their best ever ranking at 77th in September 2018. This came after a 15-game unbeaten streak,^[B] spanning from 24 March 2016 to 11 October 2018, in which Lebanon won 8 games and drew 7.

History

1933–1957: Early history

On 22 March 1933, Lebanese journalist Nassif Majdalani contributed to the formation of Lebanon's first and current sports federation: the Lebanese Football Association;^[3][4] it would join FIFA in 1935 and the AFC in 1964.^[5][6]

On 27 January 1934, the International team of Beirut played against the Varsity team of the American University of Beirut (AUB); the match finished 5–1 to the university selection.^[7] The following month the Beirut select team, made up of Varsity and Renaissance athletes of the AUB, played against Romanian side T.A.C. in Beirut;^[8][4] the first match, played on 18 February on the Edmond Rubeiz Field, would end in a 1–9 defeat while the second, played two days later on the University Field, ended 1–4 to the opposing team.^[9] These would be regarded as the national team's first matches, albeit unofficial.^[10] The All-Beirut Team played again against T.A.C. the following year, on 21 November 1935, at the Varsity Field: they would lose once again against the team from Romania.^[11] In 1936, the Beirut XI played against another Romanian team, Unirea Tricolor București, who had also faced the AUB teams the same year; the Beirut selection lost 6-2.^[12]

Lebanon, represented by Beirut XI, played its first game with Syria (Damascus XI) in 1939 at the Habib Abou Chahla Stadium with the match ending in a 4–5 loss.^[4] Beirut XI would go on to play a total of 17 unofficial games against Damascus XI til 1963, with Lebanon winning 9, drawing 2 and losing 6.^[4] The national team's first official FIFA game was played on 27 April 1940 against Mandatory Palestine; Lebanon was defeated 5–1^[13] with Ibrahim Mualem scoring their maiden goal.^[14] In 1944, Lebanon lost against an unofficial Iraq national team, representing the Ministry of Education, that was coached by Englishman George Raynor.^[4]

During the 1950s, Lebanon was coached by Vinzenz Dittrich before^[15] and Ljubiša Broćić after:^[16] the side played four official games but only managed one draw against Syria in 1953.^[13] The national team also played various unofficial games against different top-level European clubs, such as Dynamo Moscow and Leipzig, as well as Energia Flacara Ploiesti and Spartak Trnava in 1957.^[4]

1957–1979: Pre-Civil War

Between 19 and 27 October 1957, Lebanon hosted the second edition of the Pan Arab Games; they were drawn with Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan in the group stages.^[17] After two 1-1 draws against Saudi Arabia and Syria, Lebanon won 6-0 against Jordan thanks to two braces by Joseph Abu Murad and Mardek Chabarian, as well as a goal each by Robert Shehada and Levon Altonian coming first in their group. In the semifinals Lebanon would lose 4-2 against Tunisia; they would however finish in third place as Morocco withdrew from the Third Place match.

In 1958 Joseph Nalbandian was appointed as coach of the national team:^[18] he became one of Lebanon's most successful coaches winning 8 official matches in 22 games during his 11 year spell. Under Nalbadian, Lebanon hosted the 1959 Mediterranean Games and played with the amateur sides of Italy and Turkey: they finished bottom of the group after four losses to the two European teams.^[19]

In 1963, Lebanon hosted the Arab Cup: they would play with Tunisia, Syria, Kuwait and Jordan.^[20] Lebanon won their first match against Kuwait 6–0 thanks to a hat-trick by captain Levon Altonian: this would be Lebanon's biggest win at that point, tied with a 7–1 win over Saudi Arabia in 1961.^[21] After another win, against Jordan, and two losses, against Syria and Tunisia, Lebanon finished in third-place in the tournament.

Lebanon's first Asian Cup qualifying campaign came in 1971; they would be coached by Joseph Abou Murad.^[18] In the first round, they lost to the host Kuwait 0–1, but later defeated their traditional rival Syria 3–2 qualifying to the next round. In a decisive semi-final match against Iraq, Lebanon lost 1–4, failing to qualify for its first AFC Asian Cup.^[22]

Despite the Lebanese Civil War, Lebanon appeared in the 1980 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, held in Abu Dhabi; however, by losing against Syria, Lebanon was out of the competition.^[23]

1993–2004: Post-Civil War

Lebanon's first official World Cup qualification after the Civil War was in 1993, with Adnan Al-Shargi as their coach.^[24] After two wins, two losses and four draws Lebanon finished third in its group and was eliminated.^[25]

Under the Welsh manager Terry Yorath, the first foreign manager to lead the team after the Civil War, Lebanon began its first official post-war Asian campaign to qualify for the 1996 AFC Asian Cup. Despite winning twice against Turkmenistan, Lebanon was eliminated from the competition with a one point difference to Kuwait, the group leaders.^[26]

Lebanon was drawn into a group that included Kuwait and Singapore in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Led by Terry Yorath, the Cedars were eliminated having only gained four points.^[27]

In 2000, Lebanon hosted the AFC Asian Cup despite concerns by FIFA regarding the stadiums' conditions.^[28] Under Croatian coach Josip Skoblar,^[29] Lebanon, captained by Jamal Taha,^[30] was drawn into Group A alongside Iran, Iraq and Thailand; they finished last in the group with only two points.^[31]

During the 2002 World Cup qualifications, Lebanon, managed by the German coach Theo Bücker, was drawn with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand in the first round.^[32] The side, equipped with great attacking prowess in players such as Roda Antar, Haitham Zein, Wartan Ghazarian and Gilberto dos Santos, managed a second place finish in their group with 26 goals scored in 6 games, the most in their group.

Under the French coach Richard Tardy,^[33] Lebanon was drawn in Group D of the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.^[34] 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.^[35] Lebanon finished in third place of its respective group having only claimed four points.^[34]

Drawn into the second round of the qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup, Lebanon were grouped with South Korea, Vietnam and Maldives.^[36] Coach Mahmoud Hamoud, however, didn't manage to qualify the Lebanese side to the World Cup, finishing second in their group.

2006–2011: Decline

Lebanon was drawn into Group D for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign with Australia, Bahrain and Kuwait.^[37] The scheduled meeting of Australia and Lebanon made Buddy Farah, an Australian player of Lebanese descent, declare his return to the national side.^[38] 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 Lebanon Football Association due to the 2006 Lebanon War, which forced several players to leave their homes to evade the war.^[39][40]

In 2007 the Lebanese side was seeded into the first round of the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, where they faced India in a bid to qualify directly for the third round of the qualifiers. Lebanon would win 6–3 on aggregate against India and advance to the third round, with 2 goals coming from Mohammed Ghaddar in the second leg.^[41] 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.^[42] He was suspended by the Football Federation and would be allowed to return on the condition that he would apologize to the Lebanese FA and its national team coach for the critical stance.^[43] Lebanon was then grouped with Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Uzbekistan, in which they finished last without any points.^[44]

In April 2008, Lebanon and Maldives, the then two lowest-ranked teams in the seedings,^[C][45] played home-and-away matches in the preliminary round of the 2011 Asian Cup, where the winner would proceed to the next round of the qualifiers. A 4–0 home win and a 2–1 in the return leg secured qualification to the qualifying round.^[46][47] Lebanon was then drawn into Group D of the qualifiers along with China, Syria and Vietnam in which they finished in last place.^[48]

Under coach Emile Rustom, who was re-appointed as head coach of the national team, Lebanon were drawn into the second round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers where they faced Bangladesh. Lebanon defeated Bangladesh 4–0 in Beirut on 23 July, before losing 2–0 in Dhaka five days later.^[49][50] 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.^[51][52][53]

2011–2014: Stagnation

On 4 August 2011, it was reported that Theo Bücker was announced as Lebanon's new head coach.^[54] 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."^[55] On 6 September, Lebanon came back from a goal down to beat the United Arab Emirates 3–1; 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, with the latter being awarded man of the match.^[56][57][58]

Lebanon then hosted Kuwait in Beirut on 11 October in a game that ended 3–1;^[59][60][61] 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.^[62] 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.^[63] On 11 November, Lebanon beat Kuwait 1–0 with a goal scored by Mahmoud El Ali at the 57th minute at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Kuwait City;^[64] it was the first time Kuwait had lost to Lebanon on 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.^[65] After 4 minutes Lebanon took the lead by Ali Al Saadi, the lead however didn't last long as 11 minutes later Korea equalized the scoreline by a penalty kick. At the 30th minute of the match Lebanon was given a penalty kick after Mahmoud El Ali was tackled inside the penalty area; Abbas Ali Atwi subsequently converted the penalty giving Lebanon a 2–1 victory. This proved to be Lebanon's first ever win against South Korea; thanks to this win, Lebanon qualified to the fourth and final qualifying round for their first time in history.

Lebanon was drawn in Group A of the Fourth Round along with South Korea, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Qatar.^[66] Against Iran, a first-half Roda Antar goal gave Lebanon the lead in Beirut to keep The Cedars' faint hopes of scrapping through to Brazil alive. Antar rose above the Iranian defense to head home a free kick from Mohammad Haidar in the 28th minute, giving Lebanon their first ever goal 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.^[67]

On 26 February 2013, national team players Ramez Dayoub and Mahmoud El Ali were involved in the 2013 Lebanese match fixing scandal: they had been accused of illegal betting on several matches concerning Lebanese teams and the national team as well as manipulating results.^[68] Both players received a fine of $15,000 and were banned for life from the Lebanese Football Association.^[69]

The Lebanese dream was nearly over after a dramatic loss to Uzbekistan 0–1 at road.^[70] The following match witnessed a possible comeback for the Lebanese side, as they hosted South Korea in Beirut and were leading 1–0 until a shocking equalizer from the visitors in the 97th minute marked the elimination of Lebanon.^[71]

Lebanon were drawn into group B with Iran, Thailand, and Kuwait for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifications,^[72] during which the Italian coach Giannini replaced Theo Bucker as head coach.^[73] On the newly appointed manager's debut game, in Matchday 3, Mohammad Ghaddar scored the equalizer against Kuwait in Beirut to earn a point for Lebanon.^[74] At the end of the qualifications, although Lebanon and China had the same points in the ranking of the third-placed teams, the latter had a higher goal difference by one goal, meaning China would go to Australia as the best third placed team instead of Lebanon.^[72] Despite that, the Lebanese considered that campaign as one of their greatest results in Lebanon's history since the 1996 qualifications.

2014–present: Rise of a Generation

Starting from 2014, because of the failed attempt in qualifying to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia, the Lebanese Football Federation decided to reform their national team by creating "model" based on what the Belgium national team had done before, especially during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.^[75] By inviting new players from nations which had a large Lebanese community, such as from the United States, Colombia, Germany, Denmark and Norway, there was hope in a rebirth of Lebanese football.^[76] Thus, despite it being just the beginning, the presence of many players of Lebanese descent in other countries, such as Miguel Layún in Mexico and Ahmad Elrich in Australia, and of legendary players and managers, such as Pierre Issa, Mário Zagallo, Branco and Ze Elias, inspired the Lebanese people to believe in a brighter future for Lebanese football.

On 8 September 2014, Lebanon played an unofficial FIFA match against the Brazilian Olympic team in Doha for the first time which ended in a 2–2 draw, after a goal scored by the Brazilian team, which gave them the momentary 2–1 lead, was incorrectly ruled onside;^[77] this match drew great praise from all Lebanese people for their performance in the match. Unfortunately, after Lebanon's 0–5 loss to Qatar,^[78] Giannini was suspected as the main culprit and was subsequently fired.

In 2015, Miodrag Radulović was appointed as new coach of Lebanon following the departure of Giuseppe Giannini;^[79] he would lead Lebanon in the 2018 World Cup qualifications.^[80] The team was drawn into a group containing Asia's runners-up South Korea, Kuwait, Myanmar and Laos;^[81] it would be the second time that Lebanon has faced both South Korea and Kuwait in World Cup Qualifiers. Lebanon managed a second place finish in the group and, although eliminated from the World Cup qualifications, they would go on to play in the 2019 Asian Cup qualification third round.

The draw put Lebanon in Group B along with North Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia.^[82] With 5 wins and 1 draw, Lebanon topped the group unbeaten and managed to clinch qualification to the Asian Cup for the first time (after qualifying as a host in 2000, the only previous time Lebanon participated in the event).^[83]Hassan Maatouk, who took over captainship from Roda Antar in 2016,^[84] was key in qualifying Lebanon to the Asian Cup, as he scored 5 goals in 6 games.^[85] During these qualifications Lebanon fielded various players of Lebanese origins born and raised in foreign countries, such as Hilal El-Helwe, Joan Oumari and Omar Bugiel from Germany, Soony Saad from the United States,^[86]Samir Ayass from Bulgaria and Adnan Haidar from Norway.

Although Radulović failed to qualify the national team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he successfully helped Lebanon qualify for their first ever AFC Asian Cup in 2019,^[87] becoming the first Montenegrin manager to help a team qualify for a major tournament. Radulović also managed to maintain a 15-game unbeaten run^[B] spanning from 24 March 2016 to 11 October 2018,^[88][89] winning 8 and drawing 7;^[21] during this period, in September 2018, Lebanon achieved their best ever FIFA ranking at 77th.^[90]

Team image

Kits and colours

During their first match against T.A.C. in 1934, Lebanon wore a white shirt with the Lebanese cedar, black shorts and white socks, while the goalkeeper wore a black shirt and white pants.^[10]

The Lebanese national team traditionally wears red as their first colours and white as their second colours.^[91] The choice of these colours originates from the national flag of Lebanon, composed of red, white and green, the latter of which has typically been reserved for the goalkeeper’s kit. For the home shirt, Lebanon usually wears red shirt, shorts and socks (with either white or gold details); the away kit's colours are the inverse of the home ones, with a full white outfit accompanied by red or gold details.

In the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, Lebanon wore a red Adidas shirt with white details on the sides and a white collar, white shorts and red socks. In the 2019 capaign instead Lebanon would wear a full red kit manufactured by Capelli Sport, with the Lebanese cedar, the country's national symbol, present underneath the team's logo in a darker shade of red.^[92]

The kit has been manufactured by Capelli Sport since 2015;^[93] previous manufacturers include Diadora,^[94]Adidas^[95] and A-Line.^[96]

Kit supplier	Period
Adidas	2000–2002
A-Line	2003–2006
Adidas	2007
A-Line	2008–2012
Adidas	2012–2015
Diadora	2015
Capelli Sport	2015–present

Source: FIFA Photos

Nickname

Lebanon is generally referred to as The Cedars (منتخب الأرز) by fans and the media due to the cedar tree being the national symbol of the country.^[97][98][99]

Stadiums

Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium

Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium (Arabic: ملعب مدينة كميل شمعون الرياضية), Lebanon's largest stadium, is 47,700 m² with 48,837 seats^[100] capacity multi-purpose stadium in the Bir Hassan area of Beirut, Lebanon. The Sports City Stadium is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has athletics facilities. It was built in 1957 by the Lebanese Ministry of Youth & Fine Arts in the presidency of Camille Chamoun. It was reconstructed in 1997 in a way to hold against earthquakes.^[101] Four parking spaces are available for 2590 cars. National and international championships were held in this city. In 1998, it hosted the Pan Arab Games,^[102] and in 1999, the Arab Championship. It is the home of the Lebanon national football team. The stadium was the main venue for the 2000 AFC Asian Cup and the sixth edition of the Jeux de la Francophonie held in 2009.

Saida International Stadium

Saida International Stadium (Arabic: إستاد صيدا الدولي) is a 22,600 seats capacity multi-purpose stadium in Saida (Sidon, Zidon), Lebanon.^[103] Located at the main northern entrance of the city, the stadium was built on the expanded grounds of the old Saida Municipal Stadium as one of the venues to host matches during the 2000 AFC Asian Cup that was held in Lebanon. It is currently mostly used for local and international football matches. Built over the sea, Saida International Stadium is one of the closest stadiums to the sea in the world.

Competitive record

Overview
Event	1st place	2nd place	3rd place	4th place
World Cup	0	0	0	0
Asian Cup	0	0	0	0
WAFF Championship	0	0	0	0
Arab Nations Cup	0	0	1	2
Pan Arab Games	0	0	2	1
Asian Games	0	0	0	0
Mediterranean Games	0	0	1	0

FIFA World Cup

Lebanon's FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Host nation(s) and year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Outcome	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Part of  France										Part of  France
1934
1938
1950	Did not partecipate										Did not partecipate
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994	Did not qualify										3rd of 5	8	2	4	2	8	9
1998											2nd of 3	4	1	1	2	4	7
2002											2nd of 4	6	4	1	1	26	5
2006											2nd of 4	6	3	2	1	11	5
2010											First round win, 4th of 4	8	1	1	6	9	17
2014											First round win, 2nd of 4, 5th of 5	13	5	2	6	16	22
2018											2nd of 5	8	3	2	3	12	6
2022	To be determined
2026	To be determined
Total	Best: N/A	0/21	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		Total	53	19	13	21	86	71
Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place

AFC Asian Cup

Lebanon's AFC Asian Cup record											Qualification record
Host nation(s) and year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Outcome	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1956	Did not partecipate										Did not partecipate
1960
1964
1968
1972	Did not qualify										3rd of 7	5	2	0	3	6	10
1976	Withdrew										Withdrew
1980	Did not qualify										3rd of 4	3	1	1	1	2	1
1984	Withdrew										Withdrew
1988
1992
1996	Did not qualify										2nd of 3	4	2	1	1	7	6
2000	Group stage	10th of 12	3	0	2	1	3	7	Squad		Qualified as hosts
2004	Did not qualify										3rd of 4	6	1	1	4	2	8
2007	Withdrew										Withdrew
2011	Did not qualify										4th of 4	8	2	1	5	8	14
2015											3rd of 4	6	2	2	2	12	14
2019	Group stage	N/A	0	0	0	0	0	0	Squad		2nd of 5, 1st of 4	14	8	3	3	26	10
2023	To be determined
Total	Best: group stage	2/13	3	0	2	1	3	7	—		Total	45	17	9	19	61	62
Champions       Runners-up       Third place/semi-finalists

WAFF Championship

Lebanon's WAFF Championship record
Host nation(s) and year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2000	Group stage	5th of 8	3	1	1	1	3	2
2002		5th of 6	2	0	0	2	0	3
2004		6th of 6	2	0	0	2	1	7
2007		6th of 6	2	0	0	2	0	4
2008	Did not participate
2010
2012	Group stage	9th of 12	3	1	0	2	2	3
2014		8th of 9	2	0	1	1	0	2
2019	To be determined
Total	Best: group stage	6/8	14	2	2	10	6	21
Champions       Runners-up       Third place/semi-finalists

Arab Nations Cup

Lebanon's Arab Nations Cup record
Host nation(s) and year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1963	Third place	3rd of 5	4	2	0	2	13	4
1964	Fourth place	4th of 5	4	1	1	2	4	5
1966		4th of 9	6	3	1	2	11	10
1982	Cancelled
1985	Did not participate
1988	Group stage	6th of 10	4	1	2	1	2	4
1992	Did not participate
1998	Group stage	9th of 12	2	0	1	1	1	4
2002		8th of 10	4	1	1	2	5	7
2009	Cancelled
2012	Group stage	10th of 10	3	0	1	2	1	4
Total	Best: third place	7/9	27	8	7	12	37	38
Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place

Pan Arab Games

Lebanon's Pan Arab Games record
Host nation(s) and year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1953	Group stage	5th of 6	3	1	1	1	1	4
1957	Third place	3rd of 8	5	2	2	1	10	6
1961	Fourth place	4th of 6	5	2	0	3	13	9
1965	Group stage	7th of 10	4	1	1	2	4	7
1976	Did not participate
1985
1997	Third place	3rd of 8	5	2	2	1	9	7
1999	Second stage	5th of 11	5	2	1	2	6	9
2007	Did not participate
2011
Total	Best: third place	6/10	27	10	7	10	43	42
Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place

Asian Games

Lebanon's Asian Games record
Host nation, city and year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
New Delhi 1951	Did not enter
Manila 1954
Tokyo 1958
Jakarta 1962
Bangkok 1966
Bangkok 1970
Tehran 1974
Bangkok 1978
New Delhi 1982
Seoul 1986
Beijing 1990
Hiroshima 1994
Bangkok 1998	Group stage	12th of 23	5	2	0	3	9	7	Squad
2002–present	See Lebanon national under-23 football team
Total	Best: group stage	1/13	5	2	0	3	9	7	—
Gold       Silver       Bronze

Football at the Asian Games has been an under-23 tournament since 2002 (with three players of over 23 years of age allowed in the squad).

Mediterranean Games

Lebanon's Mediterranean Games record
Host nation, city and year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
Alexandria 1951	Did not enter
Barcelona 1955
Beirut 1959	Third place	3rd of 3	4	0	0	4	1	2	—
Naples 1963	Group stage	7th of 9	4	1	0	3	2	7	—
Tunis 1967	Did not enter
İzmir 1971
Algiers 1975
Split 1979
Casablanca 1983
Latakia 1987	Group stage	6th of 8	3	0	1	2	1	7	Squad
1991–present	See Lebanon national under-20 football team
Total	Best: third place	3/10	11	1	1	9	4	16	—
Gold       Silver       Bronze

Other Tournaments

Tournament	Result
1989 Peace and Friendship Cup	Group stage
2009 King's Cup	3rd place
2009 Nehru Cup	Group stage

All-time team records

Head-to-head record

See also the lists of results: 1940–89, 1990–99, 2000–09, 2010–19, unofficial matches.

Key

The following table shows Lebanon's all-time international record per opponent. It excludes any unofficial matches.

Opponent	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W%
Afghanistan	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.0
Algeria	2	0	1	1	3	6	−3	0.0
Armenia	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0.0
Australia	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	0.0
Bahrain	19	3	8	8	20	24	−4	15.79
Bangladesh	2	1	0	1	4	2	+2	50.0
Bulgaria	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	0.0
Cambodia	1	1	0	0	5	1	+4	100.0
China PR	5	0	1	4	1	13	−12	0.0
Cyprus	2	1	0	1	1	2	−1	50.0
Czech Republic	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	0.0
Ecuador	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.0
Egypt	6	0	1	5	2	15	−13	0.0
Equatorial Guinea	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0.0
Estonia	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.0
Gabon	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.0
Georgia	2	2	0	0	7	4	+3	100.0
Hong Kong	4	3	1	0	7	3	+4	75.0
India	5	3	2	0	11	6	+5	60.0
Iran	10	1	1	8	2	27	−25	10.0
Iraq	17	0	8	9	7	24	−17	0.0
Jordan	29	7	14	8	31	31	0	24.14
Kazakhstan	2	2	0	0	5	1	+4	100.0
Kuwait	30	6	9	15	30	49	−19	20.0
Kyrgyzstan	3	1	2	0	3	1	+2	33.3
Laos	2	2	0	0	9	0	+9	100.0
Libya	4	2	0	2	6	9	−3	50.0
Macedonia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.0
Malaysia	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2	100.0
Maldives	4	4	0	0	14	3	+11	100.0
Malta	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	0.0
Mauritania	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.0
Morocco	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0.0
Myanmar	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	50.0
Namibia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0.0
New Zealand	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0.0
North Korea	6	4	2	0	11	3	+8	66.7
Oman	10	3	4	3	12	11	+1	30.0
Palestine	4	1	2	1	4	3	+1	25.0
Palestine, British Mandate[D]	1	0	0	1	1	5	−4	0.0
Pakistan	3	3	0	0	17	2	+15	100.0
Philippines	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.0
Qatar	8	0	1	7	3	16	−13	0.0
Saudi Arabia	9	2	3	4	14	15	−1	22.22
Singapore	5	2	1	2	5	6	−1	40.0
Slovakia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.0
Somalia	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100.0
South Korea	11	1	2	8	4	22	−18	9.09
Sri Lanka	3	2	0	1	12	4	+8	66.7
Sudan	3	0	2	1	1	3	−2	0.0
Syria	20	3	4	13	21	37	−16	15.0
Thailand	7	2	2	3	15	12	+3	28.57
Tunisia	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	66.7
Turkey	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4	0.0
Turkmenistan	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3	100.0
Uganda	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	0.0
United Arab Emirates	12	1	5	6	11	21	−10	8.33
Uzbekistan	6	0	2	4	1	8	−7	0.0
Vietnam	4	1	2	1	4	4	0	25.0
Yemen	2	2	0	0	6	3	+3	100.0
Total	295	79	89	127	345	431	−86	26.78

Last updated: Lebanon vs Australia, 20 November 2018. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.^[21]

FIFA ranking history

The following is a chart of Lebanon's FIFA ranking from 1993 to present.^[104] Following a steady decrease in the ranking from 1998 to 2016, in the last two years Lebanon jumped 66 positions, from 147th in 2016 to 81st in 2018, during which Lebanon achieved its best ever FIFA ranking at 77th in September 2018.^[90]

@media all and (max-width:720px)body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output div.mw-graphmin-width:auto!important;max-width:100%;overflow-x:auto;overflow-y:visible

Recent results and fixtures

  Win
  Draw
  Loss

2018

2019

Coaching staff

As of 30 August 2018^[105]

Head Coach	Miodrag Radulović
Director	Fouad Bahlawan
Assistant Coach	Milic Curcic Mohamad Dakka
Technical Assistant	Youssef Mohamad
Goalkeeper Coach	Serdan Klajevic
Doctor	Johnny Ibrahim
Physiotherapist	Elie Matni
Facilities Responsible	Ahmad Fakhreddine
Media Officer	Wadih AbdelNour

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were called up for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.^[106]
Caps, goals and player numbers are correct as of 20 November 2018^[update] after the match against Australia.^[E]

.mw-parser-output .nat-fs-player thbackground-color:inherit;border:0.mw-parser-output .nat-fs-player tdtext-align:center;border:0

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Mehdi Khalil	(1991-09-19) 19 September 1991 (age 27)	30	0	Ahed
21	1GK	Ahmad Taktouk	(1994-09-29) 29 September 1994 (age 24)	2	0	Safa'
23	1GK	Mostafa Matar	(1995-09-10) 10 September 1995 (age 23)	0	0	Salam Zgharta
2	2DF	Kassem El Zein	(1990-12-02) 2 December 1990 (age 28)	11	0	Nejmeh
3	2DF	Moataz Al Junaidi	(1986-01-20) 20 January 1986 (age 32)	42	0	Ansar
4	2DF	Nour Mansour	(1991-06-14) 14 June 1991 (age 27)	43	2	Ahed
6	2DF	Joan Oumari	(1988-08-19) 19 August 1988 (age 30)	19	2	Al-Nasr
11	2DF	Robert Alexander Melki	(1992-11-14) 14 November 1992 (age 26)	1	0	AFC Eskilstuna
17	2DF	Mohamed Zein Tahan	(1988-04-02) 2 April 1988 (age 30)	29	1	Safa'
18	2DF	Walid Ismail	(1984-11-11) 11 November 1984 (age 34)	63	1	Salam Zgharta
19	2DF	Ali Hamam	(1986-08-25) 25 August 1986 (age 32)	50	3	Nejmeh
5	3MF	Samir Ayass	(1990-12-24) 24 December 1990 (age 28)	9	1	Ahed
10	3MF	Mohamad Haidar	(1989-11-08) 8 November 1989 (age 29)	54	4	Ahed
12	3MF	Adnan Haidar	(1989-08-03) 3 August 1989 (age 29)	30	1	Ansar
13	3MF	George Felix Melki	(1994-07-23) 23 July 1994 (age 24)	1	0	AFC Eskilstuna
14	3MF	Nader Matar	(1992-05-12) 12 May 1992 (age 26)	25	0	Nejmeh
15	3MF	Haitham Faour	(1990-02-27) 27 February 1990 (age 28)	56	0	Ahed
16	3MF	Shibriko	(1991-09-16) 16 September 1991 (age 27)	1	0	Ansar
7	4FW	Hassan Maatouk (captain)	(1987-10-08) 8 October 1987 (age 31)	72	19	Nejmeh
8	4FW	Moni	(1989-03-20) 20 March 1989 (age 29)	49	5	Ansar
9	4FW	Hilal El-Helwe	(1994-11-24) 24 November 1994 (age 24)	17	3	Apollon Smyrnis
20	4FW	Rabih Ataya	(1989-07-16) 16 July 1989 (age 29)	24	4	Ahed
22	4FW	Bassel Jradi	(1993-07-06) 6 July 1993 (age 25)	4	1	Hajduk Split

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the Lebanon squad in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Hadi Mortada OTH	(1999-08-01) 1 August 1999 (age 19)	0	0	Tadamon Sour	2019 AFC Asian Cup PRE
GK	Abbas Hassan INJ	(1985-05-10) 10 May 1985 (age 33)	25	0	Nejmeh	v.  Australia, 20 November 2018
GK	Mohamad Taha	(1998-04-25) 25 April 1998 (age 20)	0	0	Safa'	v.  Jordan, 9 September 2018
DF	Nassar Nassar INJ	(1992-01-01) 1 January 1992 (age 26)	11	0	Ansar	2019 AFC Asian Cup PRE
DF	Hassan Bitar	(1992-05-18) 18 May 1992 (age 26)	0	0	Ansar	v.  Kuwait, 11 October 2018
DF	Jad Noureddine	(1992-02-27) 27 February 1992 (age 26)	3	0	Perak TBG	v.  Malaysia, 27 March 2018
DF	Maher Sabra INJ	(1992-01-14) 14 January 1992 (age 26)	3	0	Nejmeh	v.  Malaysia, 27 March 2018
MF	Hussein Monzer	(1997-03-20) 20 March 1997 (age 21)	0	0	Ahed	2019 AFC Asian Cup PRE
MF	Bilal Najdi INJ	(1993-11-26) 26 November 1993 (age 25)	2	0	Ansar	v.  Kuwait, 11 October 2018
FW	Omar Chaaban Bugiel INJ	(1994-01-03) 3 January 1994 (age 24)	5	1	Bromley	2019 AFC Asian Cup PRE
FW	Soony Saad	(1992-08-17) 17 August 1992 (age 26)	11	3	Indy Eleven	v.  Kuwait, 11 October 2018
FW	Edmond Chehadé	(1993-09-30) 30 September 1993 (age 25)	2	0	Salam Zgharta	v.  Kuwait, 11 October 2018
INJ Withdrew from this squad due to injury OTH Other reason SUS Serving suspension PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Retired from international football

Previous squads

AFC Asian Cup

• 2000 AFC Asian Cup squad


• 2019 AFC Asian Cup squad

Statistics

Most capped players

The top 10 most capped players - players with an equal number of caps are ranked in chronological order of reaching the milestone.

#	Player	Period	Caps	Goals
1	Abbas Ahmed Atwi	2002–2016	84	7
2	Hassan Maatouk	2006–	72	19
3	Youssef Mohamad	1999–2016	66	3
4	Walid Ismail	2010–	63	1
5	Roda Antar	1998–2016	59	20
6	Haitham Faour	2011–	56	0
7	Mohamad Haidar	2010–	54	4
8	Abbas Ali Atwi	2002–2016	52	4
9	Ali Hamam	2009–	50	3
10	Bilal Najjarine	2004–2015	49	2
	Hassan Chaito	2011–		5

As of 20 November 2018^[update].^[107][108]
Highlighted names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

Top goalscorers

#	Player	Period	Goals	Caps	Average
1	Roda Antar	1998–2016	20	59	0.34
2	Wartan Ghazarian[F]	1993–2001	19	30	0.63
	Hassan Maatouk	2006–		72	0.26
4	Mohamad Ghaddar	2005–2017	18	41	0.44
5	Haitham Zein[F]	1998–2004	13	25	0.52
6	Mahmoud El Ali	2007–2013	12	46	0.26
7	Levon Altonian[F]	1954–1963	11	16	0.69
8	Joseph Abou Murad[F]	1954–1963	10	16	0.63
	Jamal Taha[F]	1993–2000		32	0.31
10	Gilberto dos Santos[F]	1995–2001	7	10	0.70
	Abbas Ahmed Atwi	2002–2016		84	0.08

As of 20 November 2018^[update].^[107][109]
Highlighted names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

Hat-tricks

Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first.

Player	Competition	Against	Home/Away	Result	Goals	Date
Levon Altonian	1963 Arab Nations Cup	Kuwait	Home	6–0	3	31 March 1963
Haitham Zein	1999 Pan Arab Games	Jordan	Away	3–1	3	23 August 1999
Gilberto dos Santos	Friendly	Oman	Home	3–1	3	5 August 2000
Haitham Zein	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	Pakistan	Home	6–0	3	13 May 2001
Roda Antar	2002 Arab Nations Cup	Yemen	Home	4–2	3	24 December 2002

As of 24 December 2002^[update].^[110][111]

Captains

#	Player	Period	Source
1	Salah Falah	1934	[4]
2	Levon Altonian	1963	[20]
3	Joseph Abou Murad	1960s	[112]
4	Edmond Assaf	1970s	[112]
5	Hassan Abboud	1988	[113]
6	Hassan Ayoub[G]	1993	[113]
7	Jamal Taha	1995–2000	[30]
8	Ali Fakih	2001	[113]
9	Moussa Hojeij	2002	[114]
10	Youssef Mohamad[H]	2003	[113][115]
11	Roda Antar[I]	2004–2016	[116]
12	Hassan Maatouk	2016–	[84]

Managers

The following table provides a summary of the complete record of each Lebanon manager.

Manager	Period	Pld	W	D	L	Win %	Major competitions
Vinzenz Dittrich	1953–1955	3	0	1	2	0.0	& —
Ljubiša Broćić	1956	0	0	0	0	0.0	& —
Joseph Nalbandian	1958–1969	22	8	4	10	36.4	& —
Joseph Abou Murad	1971–1973	5	2	0	3	40.0	1972 Asian Cup – Failed to qualify
Adnan Meckdache	1974–1976	6	1	1	4	16.7	& —
Joseph Abou Murad	1976–1978	0	0	0	0	0.0	& —
Adnan Meckdache	1987–1992	5	0	2	3	0.0	& —
Adnan Al-Shargi	1993	10	3	4	3	33.3	1994 World Cup – Failed to qualify
Terry Yorath	1995–1997	27	13	8	6	48.1	1996 Asian Cup – Failed to qualify 1998 World Cup – Failed to qualify
Mahmoud Saad	1997–1998	21	4	5	12	19.0	& —
Diethelm Ferner	1999	7	1	2	4	14.3	& —
Josip Skoblar	2000	16	4	8	4	25.0	2000 Asian Cup – Group stage
Theo Bücker	2000–2001	10	5	4	1	50.0	2002 World Cup – Failed to qualify
Richard Tardy	2002–2003	12	3	2	7	16.7	2004 Asian Cup – Failed to qualify
Mahmoud Hamoud	2003–2004	16	3	5	8	18.8	2006 World Cup – Failed to qualify
Mohammad Kwid	2004–2005	1	0	0	1	0.0	& —
Adnan Al-Shargi	2005	1	0	0	1	0.0	& —
Emile Rustom	2006	2	1	1	0	50.0	& —
Adnan Meckdache	2006–2008	20	4	5	11	20.0	2010 World Cup – Failed to qualify 2011 Asian Cup – Failed to qualify
Emile Rustom	2009–2011	18	3	3	12	16.7	& —
Theo Bücker	2011–2013	34	9	7	18	25.7	2014 World Cup – Failed to qualify
Giuseppe Giannini	2013–2015	13	3	6	4	23.1	2015 Asian Cup – Failed to qualify
Miodrag Radulović	2015–	33	12	13	8	36.4	2018 World Cup – Failed to qualify 2019 Asian Cup
Totals		282	79	81	122	28.0	2 out of 14

Last updated: Lebanon vs Australia, 20 November 2018. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

Sources: FIFA, The AFC, RSSSF, Football Database

See also

• Lebanon women's national football team


• Lebanon national under-23 football team


• Lebanon national under-20 football team


• Lebanon national under-17 football team


• Lebanon national beach soccer team


• Lebanon national futsal team


• Lebanese Football League


• Football in Lebanon


• Sport in Lebanon

Footnotes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lebanon national association football team.

• 
  LFA official website (in Arabic)
  


• FIFA team profile


• AFC team profile


• ELO team records