S Korea crush Lebanon’s WC hopes

Without wanting to spread too much pessimism, Lebanon’s World Cup journey appears to be over. A respectable 3-0 defeat away to South Korea Tuesday may have been expected but it was potentially terminal. Just kicking a ball in this stage of the competition is a privilege for a national side that have never gone this far before, even so one can’t help but feel the Cedars may have six points and a realistic chance at a playoff spot had Roda Antar and Mahmoud al-Ali been fit. With three games played in Group A of the Asian Zone World Cup qualifying fourth round, Lebanon have just one point after defeats to South Korea and Qatar. Back playing against the side who Lebanon collected their biggest ever scalp, the Cedars were dealt a footballing lesson from a professional team. South Korea came to Beirut in November and were beaten 2-1 by the Cedars in a historic win that paved the way for Lebanon’s progression to the fourth round. The result forced South Korea to switch coaches and rethink their strategies. After being bitten once, they weren’t about to make the same mistake again. South Korea didn’t dazzle but they were lethal. The hosts dominated possession, took their best chances, frustrated Lebanon’s front men and ensured they never committed too many men forward. 3-0 is a credible result for Lebanon against one of the continent’s best sides who were determined not underestimate their opposition and Lebanon were better than the scoreline suggested. More vigilant refereeing would have opened the game out for Lebanon, who rarely had a good run at the South Korea defense. The hosts played a high defensive line to hold Lebanon in their own half, but once the Cedars won the ball and spread it wide to their lightening fast triumvirate of Ahmad Zreik, Hasan Maatouk and Hasan Mohammad, Korea players would cynically hack them down. The fouls were intentional and professional and served to completely nip in the bud any potential Lebanon chance. The hosts knew that Lebanon’s only chance of nicking a goal was through its pacey wide men and they did everything in their power to ensure they had as little an influence as possible. A few more yellow cards would have stung Korea and Lebanon’s wingers would have been free to charge at the hosts. Lebanon’s wingers were their only hope of either nicking a goal or winning free kick deep in enemy territory, but South Korea simply refused them entry to their half. Zreik produced Lebanon’s only genuine chance when he ran through two challenges after picking the ball up from the half way line. The Ahed winger shrugged off his man and unleashed a vicious effort that had the South Korea goalkeeper at full stretch as the ball skimmed past the post. Almost straight after, Kim Bo-Kyung opened the scoring with a smart finish after Lee Keun-Ho had centred the ball. Kuen-Ho’s overlapping run brought Bilal Najjarine away from the penalty area, allowing Bo-Kyung the necessary space to get a clean shot off. Goalkeeper Ziad Samad should have tipped the ball over the bar but the Safa ’keeper’s wrists were too weak, palming the ball into the roof of the net. Despite taking a decent 1-0 deficit into the second half, Lebanon’s defense were caught on the break straight after the restart, allowing Bo-Kyung to sprint from the half way line, past the Lebanon defense and finish calmly past Samad. With the second goal, Lebanon’s heads dipped. Coach Theo Bucker cut an angry figure in the dugout while Lebanon’s players began to get chippy and aggressive. Maatouk was removed unceremoniously for Zakaria Charara, confirming Bucker’s dislike for Maatouk’s newly acquired casualness and dip in form. Substitute Koo Ja-Cheol rounded off the scoring late on. Lebanon will not play again in the competition until Sept. 11 when Iran travel to Beirut. Lebanon realistically need three wins and a draw from their next five matches to stand a chance of qualification.from daily star.