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 onlyArab country, alongsideYemen, not to qualify to the Asian Cup through regular qualification. From the late 2010s, Lebanon's results improved. After having reached thefinal round of qualification for the2014 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 thethird round of qualifications.[7]
Lebanon have never qualified past the group stage in the Asian Cup, with them narrowly missing out on theknock-out stage in 2019 due to the fair play rule;[8] the eliminations in 2000 and 2019 involved teams fromSoutheast Asia, respectivelyThailand andVietnam.[8][9]
Lebanon were unable to qualify past the first round in their three appearances at theAFC Asian Cup. After a 4–0 defeat toIran in2000,Abbas Chahrour scored Lebanon's first goal of the tournament againstIraq in a 2–2 draw. In2019, after losing againstQatar andSaudi Arabia, Lebanon achieved their first Asian Cup win againstNorth Korea (4–1). However, they missed out on theround of 16 as, in thethird-place ranking,Vietnam had accumulated less yellow-cards than Lebanon.[8] The2023 edition was Lebanon's worst to date, only managing a draw againstChina and defeats againstTajikistan and hostsQatar, finishing in last place in their group.[10]
In 2000, Lebanon hosted the Asian Cup despite concerns byFIFA regarding the stadiums' conditions.[1] Under coachJosip Skoblar,[11] Lebanon, captained byJamal Taha,[12] were drawn into Group A alongsideIran,Iraq andThailand; 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]
On 9 January 2019, Lebanon played their first game againstQatar. 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 toSaudi Arabia 2–0, sentencing Lebanon to their second defeat in the tournament.[16] In the final group stage game, played on 17 January againstNorth Korea, Lebanon won their first Asian Cup game 4–1 with goals byFelix Michel Melki,Hassan Maatouk and a brace byHilal El-Helwe. However, this wasn't enough to qualify Lebanon to the knock-out stages, as they lost out toVietnam in thethird-place ranking on the fairplay rule.[8]
Lebanon played the opening game of the tournament against hosts Qatar on 12 January 2024, in front of 82,490 spectators atLusail Stadium.[17] Lebanon suffered a 3–0 defeat against the host nation.[17] A subsequent goalless draw withChina left Lebanon needing a victory in the final match againstTajikistan to progress.[18]Bassel Jradi of Lebanon secured an early lead in the second half, but the momentum shifted whenKassem 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]
1 Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under other name(s).2 Israel was a member of the AFC until 1974.3 Recognized by FIFA as defunct.
Iran
Iraq
Thailand
Lebanon(H)
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
North Korea
Tajikistan
China
Iran
Kuwait
Singapore
Japan
United Arab Emirates
Indonesia
Malaysia
Vietnam
Australia
Iraq
