The Lebanon national football team is set to play one of its most important matches in the double Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup when it faces Palestine tomorrow at 19:00 Beirut time at the "Jassim Bin Hamad" Stadium in Doha, Qatar, in the penultimate round of Group 9 matches. Our national team needs to win this match to enhance its chances of qualifying for the continental finals again and to continue its World Cup qualifying campaign, as it aims for victory against Bangladesh in the final match on Tuesday, hoping for Palestine to stumble against Australia in the last round to secure qualification.
Australia has already secured the first two qualifying spots in this group with full points after four rounds of the qualifiers, while Palestine is in second place with 7 points, followed by Lebanon with 2 points, and Bangladesh with 1 point.
Things have undoubtedly changed significantly since the match that brought the two teams together in Sharjah, UAE, last November, which ended in a goalless draw. The Palestine team managed to strengthen its squad with high-level players active in well-known clubs, including Swedish striker Omar Faraj from AIK Stockholm, who previously played two international matches for Sweden before deciding to represent his home country. The same goes for his compatriot midfielder Mustafa Zidan, and Egyptian Al Ahly striker Wissam Abu Ali, who played for Denmark's youth teams.
Lebanese players know the extent of the challenge as they will be without midfielder-striker Basel Grady due to injury and midfielder-defender Ali Tanish "Sisi" suspended due to accumulated yellow cards. This situation was described by Montenegrin coach Miodrag Radulović as a significant loss for Lebanon, as both players are always among the core options and are considered keys to the gameplay that usually leaves a positive impact in our matches.
Coach "Rado" expressed in a press conference held today his satisfaction with the work done by himself and the players since their arrival in Doha last week, stating: "From the first day of this camp, I was satisfied with the players' work, their discipline, and the overall atmosphere. We know that a big match awaits us, and only victory benefits us, which we all understand." He added, "We have trained in recent days on the style of play we will adopt in the next two matches, and it is clear that the players are continuously improving, and I am happy about this. Overall, I am very satisfied."
For his part, striker Omar Shaban Bougil said: "Our goal is to win the match against Palestine; it is very important for the country. Our duty in the attacking line is to score goals, and I performed well with my team in England, and I want to continue this with the Lebanese national team. I look forward to this match, which I consider the most important, and I hope we achieve the result we deserve tomorrow."
### Numbers from Lebanon-Palestine Encounters
- 10 matches have previously been held between Lebanon and Palestine, where our team won 3 times, the Palestinian team won twice, and there were 5 draws.
- Lebanon has scored 16 goals in matches against Palestine, while the latter has scored 7 goals.
- Lebanon has kept a clean sheet against Palestine on 4 occasions, while Palestine has exited with a clean sheet in 6 encounters.
- The largest win for Lebanon against Palestine was 9-1, achieved on August 8, 1953, during the Arab Games in Alexandria.
- 9 cities and 7 different countries have previously hosted matches between Lebanon and Palestine, including Egypt, Libya, Syria, Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE, and Lebanon.
The last 4 encounters between the two teams from 2015 to 2023 ended in draws, with Miodrag Radulović coaching Lebanon twice against Palestine, resulting in a 0-0 draw (2015) and a 1-1 draw (2016).
In the last 5 matches against Palestine, Lebanon has been led by European coaches: Theo Bucker, Miodrag Radulović (twice), Liviu Ciobotariu, and Nikola Jorgijević.
