The Cedars were thrashed 3-0 by hosts Qatar in the tournament opener last week, while the Dragon's Team played out a lacklustre 0-0 draw against Tajikistan last time out.
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Lebanon will be bidding to keep their chances of progressing to the knockout round of the AFC Asian Cup alive when they take on China in a Group A fixture at Al Thumama Stadium on Wednesday. The Cedars were thrashed 3-0 by hosts Qatar in the tournament opener last week, while the Dragon’s Team played out a lacklustre 0-0 draw against Tajikistan last time out. Courtesy of the defeat Miodrag Radulovic’s side are languishing at the bottom of the four-team table, yet to open their account, while the Chinese are occupying second spot, with one point to their name, level on point with the Persian Lions and two adrift of leaders Qatar.
منتخبنا الوطني 🇱🇧 استكمل تمارينه ظهر اليوم على ملعب العقلة ٩ استعدادا لمباراته القادمة مع الصين #hayya_lebanon #هَيّا_آسيا pic.twitter.com/ZOKM68kQAS
— Lebanese Football Association (@thelfadotcom) January 15, 2024
Lebanon gave a good account of themselves against the reigning champions Qatar in the Asian Cup 2023 opener on Friday, registering nine shots with five of them on target. The first real save of the opening encounter was made by the Maroon’s goalkeeper Meshal Barshaam when the 25 year-old was tested by Lebanon captain Hassan Maatouk from the right side of the penalty box in the 20th minute. However, the hosts broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time thanks to Akram Afif’s fine finish from inside the box. Ten minutes into the second half, the 2022 World Cup hosts doubled the lead through Almoez Ali’s header, before Afif put the icing on the cake with his second of the night six minutes into the injury time. Now Lebanon’s backs are against the wall and to stay alive they may have to defeat the Chinese for the first time in their history.
China, on the other hand, came into the tournament with high hopes but were relatively poor against a pesky group of Tajikistan in their opening match. The Dragon’s Team registered only two efforts on target over 90 minutes, none in the opening half. It was the first time the Chinese had failed to take all three points from their opening fixture of the Asian Cup since playing out a 2-2 draw with Bahrain to kickoff the 2004 tournament. Meanwhile, Aleksandar Jankovic’s side are now winless in their last four outings in all competitions, recording three defeats and not scoring a single goal in the period.
Lebanon probable starting lineup: Matar, Melki, Mansour, El Zein, Zein, Tneich, Srour, Haidar, Kuri, Bitar, Maatouk
China probable starting lineup: Junling, Linpeng, Browning, Chenjie, Yang; Pengfei, Shangyuan, Tsun, Binbin, Lei, Long
Lebanon
| Opponents | Score |
| Qatar | 3-0 (L) |
| Saudi Arabia | 0-1 (L) |
| Jordan | 2-1 (W) |
| Bangladesh | 1-1 (D) |
| Palestine | 0-0 (D) |
China
| Opponents | Score |
| Tajikistan | 0-0 (D) |
| Hong Kong | 1-2 (L) |
| Oman | 0-3 (L) |
| South Korea | 0-3 (L) |
| Thailand | 1-2 (W) |
| Last 3 match-results | Score |
| China beat Lebanon | 1-0 |
| China beat Lebanon | 0-2 |
| China draw Lebanon | 0-0 |
The AFC Asian Cup fixture between Lebanon and China will take place at Al Thumama Stadium on Wednesday at 5:00 pm IST.
| Lebanon vs China | Key Details |
| Date | January 17 |
| Venue | Al Thumama Stadium |
| Kickoff time in Lebanon | 1:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in China | 7:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in Qatar | 2:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 5:00 pm |
The live telecast of the AFC Asian Cup matches in India will be available on Sports 18 network. Besides, football fans in India can also live stream the game through Jio Cinema. Meanwhile, those in China can catch the live action via CCTV network. And, football fans in Lebanon can watch the game on beIN Asian Cup network.
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