Lebanon is gearing up for a crucial match on Wednesday at Al Thumama Stadium, knowing that a loss could mean the end of their journey in the Asian Cup. After a tough start, Lebanon is hoping to turn things around as they face China midweek. In their opening games, Lebanon faced a 3-0 defeat against Qatar, and China had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Tajikistan. Both teams are determined to secure a win and keep their Asian Cup hopes alive.
On the first matchday, Gabriel Bitar made his fourth appearance for the Lebanon national team, stepping in for Bassel Jradi. This brought him level with Yahya El Hindi for the second-fewest caps among Lebanese players in this competition, just one more than Khalil Khamis.
Mohamad Haidar is closing in on his century mark, being 10 caps away, and Hilal El-Helwe marked his 51st international appearance by replacing the record cap holder and goal scorer Hassan Maatouk on Friday.
Maatouk is still chasing his second goal in this competition, having scored the final goal four years ago. El-Helwe, who scored a brace in their last victory over North Korea, took the field as Maatouk withdrew from the tournament due to injury.
In the China camp, captain Wu Xi was sidelined in the opening game due to a hamstring injury. Tyias Browning, Wang Shangyuan, Tan Long, and Wu Lei were the only players to retain their spots in the starting lineup from their friendly against Hong Kong, which ended in a 2-1 defeat.
Lin Liangming, who replaced Dai Wai Tsun on matchday one, is just two appearances away from reaching double digits for Dragon's Team. Liu Binbin could hit 20 appearances if he plays on Wednesday.
Yan Junling made two crucial stops against Tajikistan to maintain a clean sheet, while Zhu Chenjie saw his second international goal disallowed by VAR after heading home a corner with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Mohamad Haidar is closing in on his century mark, being 10 caps away, and Hilal El-Helwe marked his 51st international appearance by replacing the record cap holder and goal scorer Hassan Maatouk on Friday.
Maatouk is still chasing his second goal in this competition, having scored the final goal four years ago. El-Helwe, who scored a brace in their last victory over North Korea, took the field as Maatouk withdrew from the tournament due to injury.
In the China camp, captain Wu Xi was sidelined in the opening game due to a hamstring injury. Tyias Browning, Wang Shangyuan, Tan Long, and Wu Lei were the only players to retain their spots in the starting lineup from their friendly against Hong Kong, which ended in a 2-1 defeat.
Lin Liangming, who replaced Dai Wai Tsun on matchday one, is just two appearances away from reaching double digits for Dragon's Team. Liu Binbin could hit 20 appearances if he plays on Wednesday.
Yan Junling made two crucial stops against Tajikistan to maintain a clean sheet, while Zhu Chenjie saw his second international goal disallowed by VAR after heading home a corner with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Lebanon possible starting lineup:
Matar; Melki, Mansour, El Zein; Zein, Tneich, Srour, Haidar; Kuri; Bitar, Maatouk
China possible starting lineup:
Junling; Linpeng, Browning, Chenjie, Yang; Pengfei, Shangyuan, Tsun, Binbin; Lei, Long
Tags:
Asia Cup 2023