Despite losing 4-2 in their World Cup Qualifier match
against UAE yesterday, Lebanon secured their spot in the final round of the
Asian Qualifiers for the first time in their footballing history.
In September 2011,
Lebanon played their first group match of the Asian Qualifiers and succumbed to
a 6-0 defeat at the hands of South Korea, an expected result for fans and
pundits, after-all, Lebanon represented little threat to the other teams in
their group which included Kuwait, UAE and South Korea.
4 days later, however, Lebanon hosted the UAE national team
and shockingly defeated the UAE side 3-1, to take home their first 3 points. The UAE FA subsequently sacked their coach Srecko
Katanec, after what was deemed to be a “Humiliating Defeat”. Just a one-off result was the general
consensus until a month later when Lebanon hosted Kuwait. Although the odds
were in favor of the Kuwaiti side, they were saved from the brink of defeat in
the dying minutes of the game through an own goal. 2-2 was the final score and
the Lebanese National team began attracting some attention. With 3 games left
to play, Lebanon found themselves still in contention for qualification.
In November 2011, Lebanon travelled to Kuwait, and once
more, against expectations, defeated the Kuwaiti National team 1-0 in front of
their own fans. This was a huge result for Lebanon as they were now 2nd
in their group, unprecedented territory for the team and fans. It was at this point that the Lebanese people
began to take notice of their national team’s progress. There were only 2 games
left and the possibility of qualifying to the next round had never been closer
for Lebanon. Their next fixture,
however, was against South Korea; the team that beat them by 6 goals only 2
months ago.
The fans flocked to the stadium like never before as Lebanon
hosted South Korea and once more pulled off a miraculous 2-1 victory against
the mighty South Koreans. They had now almost cemented their place in the
second round and would only need a draw against UAE to guarantee qualification.
Even a loss would suffice as long as South Korea does not lose their final
encounter with Kuwait. Their chances were looking good and were enough cause
for early celebration ahead of their last remaining fixture against UAE which
took place yesterday.
Although it was an away game played on Emarati soil, Lebanese
citizens from all over the world booked their tickets to the UAE and flocked to
the Al Nahyan Stadium effectively making it their own by vastly outnumbering
the home crowd. The game was played out at a good pace with plenty of goal,
with the UAE edging out their opponents 4-2 to earn their first 3 points in the
competition to serve as consolation.
Lebanese fans were left a little disappointed by the result,
but they shouldn’t be! The team has come a long way from being mere pushovers,
to being able to actually compete with their Asian counterparts. With limited
budgets, coaching staff, and training facilities, piled on top of the fact that the
footballing profession in Lebanon is regarded as a “part-time hobby”, the team
has been greatly over-achieving and has given the Lebanese population a common
interest to shout about.
UAE 4–2 Lebanon:
Match Analysis
Lebanon coach, Thoe Bucker, fielded a 4-1-3-2 formation with
El Ali playing as a striker with Maatouk behind him on the left. Zreik, Atwi, and Shamas were in midfield with Faour
playing in front of the defense as a holding midfielder. At the back, Mohamad,
Dyoub, Najarin, and Ismail were selected, and second goalkeeper Mognieh was
given the nod ahead of Samad.
The UAE played a 4-3-3 system with Khaseif guarding the posts; Saeed, Jaber ,
Juma, and Al Marzouqi in defense, Al Wehaibi, Al Hosani, and Abbas in midfield,
and Matar, Qasem, and Obaid up front.
Fueled by the cheers of their supporters, the game started
off at a good pace with Lebanon attacking their opponents in the first few
minutes. It took around 10 minutes for the Emaratis to get into the game and
put some pressure on the Lebanese defense that played a physical game and
conceded a number of free kicks.
In the 20
th minute, Saeed scored the first goal
of the game from what should have been a simple free-kick for the goalie to
deal with, the Lebanese goalkeeper made a mess off the ball as it slipped out
of his hands into the back of the net.
The lead didn’t last long for the UAE as 3 minutes later El
Ali got on the end of a through ball and burst his way past the last defender before
calmly placing the ball into the back of the net to grab the equalizer for the
visitors. El Ali had to be subbed immediately after scoring due to his clash
with Khaseif in the play that led up to the goal. Akram Moghrabi took his place
in attack.
UAE scored their
second goal on the 38th minute from a lovely build up play when
Obaid got past his marker on the right side of the field to put in a cross for
Matar who set it up for a nice finish by Al Wehaibi to make it 2-1.
Once again, UAE couldn’t hold on to their lead as only a
minute before the half time whistle, Maatouk expertly controlled the ball from
a cross, receiving it with his right foot, getting past his marker, and
applying the finish with his left into the bottom right corner of the net. 2-2
was the score at the halfway mark.
UAE controlled the second half of the game forcing Lebanon
to fall back into their own half. The Lebanese defense looked organized enough
to cope with the pressure from UAE’s play but eventually conceded in the 69th
minute from a magnificent free-kick taken by Matar. From the edge of the box,
Matar blasted a fierce shot into the top right corner of the net to give his
team the lead for the third time.
After conceding the goal, Lebanon continued to give away
possession in the middle of the pitch and were never really able to get back into the game. With 10 minutes left to go, UAE added a cushion to their lead from an
indirect free-kick. Matar played the ball to Saeed, who was left unmarked on
the edge of the penalty area; Saeed did not waste the opportunity to add
another goal to his tally. 4-2 the final result.
Closing Points:
* UAE played well and looked organized for a team
that has undergone a massive overhaul- especially in the second half. Although
they only managed to break down the Lebanese defense once from their build-up
play, they controlled the game and their first win in 6 games will serve to
build up their confidence.
* Set pieces are a basic part of the game and
defending them should be a fundamental training aspect; an area that requires
much attention for Lebanon having conceded 3 out of the 4 goals from dead ball
situations:
- While it’s easy to blame the goalie for the
first one, the shot shouldn’t be getting past the wall so easily.
- The second free-kick goal by Matar, although
spectacularly taken, a properly placed defensive wall of 3 players, not 2,
would have made it much more difficult.
- The 3rd goal from an indirect free-kick was a perfect example of bad
defending from set-piece situations.
* Lebanon had several moments in the game (especially in the second half when they were tied at 2-2) where they could have kept possession in midfield through short easy passes, slowed down the tempo, and given themselves a breather. They instead opted to play hopeful long balls and dangerous dribbles opening themselves up to counter-attacks time after time.
* Lebanon’s formation was quite narrow focusing most
of their attacks through the middle, UAE caught on to that in the second half
as they began to tighten up their center to counter the predictable Lebanese strategy.
* With a 3 man midfield, the fullbacks have to
push up to provide support in the channel. The Lebanese fullbacks, Ismail and
Mohamad, rarely pushed forward to try and provide passing options to the 3 men
in the middle.
* Lebanon has a pacey and talented player in
Maatouk and could be better utilized on the left wing instead of the more
central role he was playing in today.
* Antar’s absence was heavily felt by the team as
he provides guidance, organization, and a sense of calm to his team mates.
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