The Lebanon national football team held its first training session in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, in preparation for their upcoming match against the host Bangladesh team next Tuesday at 13:45 Beirut time, at the "Bashundhara Kings Arena". This match is part of the second round of Group 9 in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup.
The training today was led by head coach Nikola Jovanović at the police complex, with significant local media interest in following the Lebanese team. Journalists posed questions to the Croatian coach regarding the current situation of the team and the absences experienced before arriving in Dhaka.
The team trained fully except for winger Hassan "Sony" Saad, who had to travel directly from the UAE to the United States to be with his wife, who is giving birth to their first child today. Jovanović ensured a light training session for the players who were in the starting lineup during the last match against Palestine (0-0), dividing his squad into two groups. He focused on maintaining possession, ball rotation, and finding passing lines under pressure.
Confidence was evident in the words of both the coach and players about the possibility of repeating a victory over Bangladesh, having previously beaten them 2-0 during the South Asian Championship held in India last June. The head coach is expected to build on the training sessions the team will engage in tomorrow and Monday evening at the match venue to finalize his lineup for this important encounter, aiming for a first victory to boost their points tally and enhance their standing in the group before starting preparations for the Asian Cup finals to be held in Qatar early next year. The "Cedar Men" will be in the same group as the host country (on January 12), China (January 17), and Tajikistan (January 22).
