Doha, Qatar: Lebanon wrapped up their matches in Group I of the Preliminary Joint Qualification – Round 2 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 in style, beating Bangladesh 4-0 at Khalifa International Stadium yesterday.
The result means the Cedars finish third with six points, just two behind Palestine who accompanied Australia to the third round of World Cup qualifiers, while Bangladesh could not add to their solitary point, collected from the reverse fixture in Dhaka back in November.
Things could not have started in a worse way for Bangladesh as Shakil Hossain committed a foul inside his own box, prompting the referee to point to the spot after just five minutes. Veteran Hassan Maatouk confidently slotted home from the resulting penalty to give Lebanon an early lead.
Lebanon doubled their lead just before the break when Nader Matar controlled Nassar Nassar’s cross from the right, protecting it from his marker before unleashing a powerful drive from close range into the roof of the Bangladeshi net.
The second half started in an identical fashion to its predecessor; Maatouk was in the right place to finish off a fine Lebanon move. Mohammed Haidar’s quickly taken free-kick saw him feed Karim Darwich who advanced down the right and squared for the captain to convert home his second of the night.
It was the same duo combining again on the stroke of the hour mark. Another quick counter-attack saw Darwich tee-up Maatouk and the latter struck with venom with his weaker right foot past goalkeeper Mitul Marma to complete his hat-trick before being substituted for the last time after announcing his international retirement.
The introduction of forward Shahriar Emon revived the Bangladeshi attack, with the youngster taking on defenders time and time again in the last 20 minutes of the game, and he even came close to opening the scoring for his team on multiple occasions, one requiring a goal-line headed clearance from Kassem Al Zain to deny Emon.
Despite numerous attempts, Bangladesh were unable to get their consolation goal, meaning Shek Morsalin’s strike in the reverse fixture remains their only goal in the group.
