Lebanese national football team captain Hassan Maatouk will continue his international career until the end of the qualifying journey for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup. The player with the longest international career in the history of our national team had stated on the eve of the Asian Cup that the tournament currently held in Qatar would be his last, hinting at the end of his international journey which began in 2006. He has become the player with the most appearances for the national team (123 matches) and the all-time top scorer with 23 goals, in addition to 18 assists.
Maatouk's decision comes after a meeting held today with the president of the Lebanese Football Association, engineer Hashim Haidar, who urged him to continue defending Lebanon’s colors at least until the end of the qualifiers he started with. Especially since Montenegrin head coach Miodrag Radulović still relies on him as a key player, having participated in the three matches played by the team in the continental tournament against China, Qatar, and Tajikistan, where he appeared to be the most dangerous creator on the field and the focal point of the attack.
The captain considered that remaining with the national team "is a duty that I cannot refuse, as from the first day I started playing with the team, I wanted to give my all to elevate its status. Ultimately, every player's ambition is to wear their country's colors and help it present the best possible." He added: "As usual, I will spare no effort to meet the expectations and unlimited trust that the coaching staff and the federation have placed in me for over 17 years I have spent with the Lebanese national team."
Thus, Maatouk will be available within Radulović's squad, who will arrive tonight in Beirut to monitor league matches and observe players, alongside the kickoff of the six-team round tomorrow with a summit match between the defending champions Al-Ahed and Ansar at the President Fouad Chehab Sports Complex in Jounieh. It is worth noting that the next challenge for our national team in Group 9 of the second qualifying round will be on March 21 when they play against their Australian hosts, before facing them again five days later in the return match, which will also take place in Australia. This will be Lebanon’s second to last match in these qualifiers, facing Palestine on June 6, and then Bangladesh on June 11, which will mark Maatouk's final match with the national team.
