Lebanon’s football team showcased one of its best performances in a long time, as it was narrowly defeated 1-0 by its Saudi counterpart in a friendly match held at Al-Wakrah Club Stadium in the Qatari capital of Doha. This match was part of their preparations for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup, which is hosted by Qatar and starts on January 12.
The Lebanese team delivered a tactically high-level performance with significant commitment from the players to the plan set by the Montenegrin coach Miodrag Radulovic. They closed the doors on the Saudi team in the first half, preventing them from any scoring opportunities. Lebanon came close to scoring, particularly in the eighth minute when captain Hassan Maatouk played a cross from the right, which Omar Shaban redirected towards the goal. However, it deflected off the Saudi defense before reaching the net.
Lebanon also had two opportunities in the final minutes of the second half, but the Saudi goalkeeper Nawaf al-Qahtani’s skill prevented them from equalizing.
Radulovic made several adjustments to the starting lineup from the previous match against Jordan, with Mustafa Matar in goal, Ali Tannish in the midfield and Omar Shaban in the attack.
The second half of the match saw four substitutions, including two precautionary changes due to discomfort felt by Hussein Zein and Walid Shour after a first half marked by physical clashes. The Lebanese team played without midfielder Felix Melki, who suffered a first-degree muscle tear in the hamstring during the last training session, likely keeping him sidelined for 10 days to two weeks.
Despite the challenges faced by the Saudis in creating scoring opportunities in this match, their Italian coach Roberto Mancini made several substitutions, one of which led to the only goal in the 48th minute with a close-range shot.
In the 90th minute, Sonny Saad nearly equalized for Lebanon with a powerful direct free-kick, skillfully parried away by Qahtani to a corner. Two minutes later, Saad attempted to play a lofted ball towards the goal, but the Saudi goalkeeper’s timely intervention prevented it from reaching the net.
Lebanon’s lineup: Goalkeeper Mustafa Matar (Mahdi Khalil 46′), players Hussein Zein (Mohammad Ali al-Dahhini 46′), Noor Mansour, Alex Melki (Maher Sabra 67′), Kassem al-Zein (Ali al-Haj 84′), Nassar Nassar (Hassan Shaheetu 84′), Walid Shour (Hassan Suroor 46′), Ali Tannish (Daniel Lhoud 67′), Mohammad Haydar (Sonny Saad 67′), Hassan Maatouk (Gabriel Bechara 67′), Omar Shaban (Hilal al-Hilweh 46′).
