Team Melli will meet Lebanon in Sidon to consolidate its position at the top of the table in Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar qualifiers. This is the final round before the midway stage of the robin format as the qualifiers will resume against Syria 5 days later.
While Iran topping the table is not much of a surprise, Lebanon’s third-place ranking is certainly is as the Lebanese team started the qualifiers as the lowest ranking team in the group. However, Lebanon picked up their first victory in the group last time out after a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind win against Syria, with a quickfire brace from Mohamad Kdouh and a decisive strike from Soony Saad securing all three points. Lebanon lost narrowly to South Korea while picking up a draw against Iraq.
The Cedars will be looking to continue the momentum but face tough outings against Iran and the UAE in the week ahead. Having played all four of their games away from home so far, though, Ivan Hasek’s side will be eager to take advantage of home comforts in five of their next six matches. Lebanese FA effort to open the gates for the fans at home has failed to materialize as the match against Team Melli will be played without spectators.
Lebanon’s game plan is quite simple. The brute defense even with 8 or 9 players, frustrate the opposition and pray for a counterattack opportunity. Lebanon is a hardly ambitious forward-going team, as they only managed to score in one of the four matches only. Their intensity is in the physical strength of their players and good defensive discipline regime.
For Team Melli, it will be the same as what has transpired so far under Dragan Skocic, except for the absence of Mehdi Taremi. With three wins and a draw against the Koreans, Team Melli will be fighting hard to get the fourth win in Lebanon. There is going to be a minimum of changes in the team lineup with the goalkeeper and defense pretty much unchanged. Where the Team Needs improvement is in the middle of the field as the last matches showed that this area is lacking creativity, enterprise, and a schemer amongst other things. Saman Ghoddos is surprisingly being ignored while he is the one player that can split defenses with his passing and clever positioning. There is no carrier of the ball from the heart of the midfield, a player who can beat one or two markers inside to provide a killer pass for Azmoun and co. Most penetrations come from the flanks. As such, Skocic’s game plan is quite predictable and can be easily read by the opposition coaches.
Team Melli needs variety in the offensive part, changing of guards, some players’ positions, and tactical variation will do the team a world of good. The inclusion of the Captain and star of Omid team, Yasin Salmani in the squad is one promising move. The exciting 19 years old Sepahan midfielder might just claim a place in the lineup and make his international debut. It will be a gallant move by Skocic and could silence many of his critics.
With an opposing team that can frustrate you and presses hard on the ball carrier, it is important for the Team Melli players to keep their composure, especially with Lebanon resorting to simulation, time-wasting, and many other tricks to frustrate the Team Melli players.
FIFA RANKING
November 2021
| IRAN | LEBANON | |||
| World Ranking | 22 | 92 | ||
| Points | 1545 | 1250 | ||
| Asia Ranking | 1 | 15 | ||
| Highest Ever Ranking | 22 | 81 | ||
| Lowest Ever Ranking | 122 | 161 | ||
| Average Rank | 44 | 122 |
PAST 5 GAMES – IRAN
| 15/06/21 | WQA | Iran | 1 – 0 | Iraq | |
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S. Azmoun 35′
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| 02/09/21 | WQA | Iran | 1 – 0 | Syria | |
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A. Jahanbakhsh 56′
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| 07/09/21 | WQA | Iraq | 0 – 3 | Iran | |
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69′ M. Taremi
90′ A. Gholizadeh
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| 07/10/21 | WQA | UAE | 0 – 1 | Iran | |
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70′ M. Taremi
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| 12/10/21 | WQA | Iran | 1 – 1 | Korea Republic | |
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0 – 1
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48′ Son Heung-Min
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A. Jahanbakhsh 76′
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1 – 1
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PAST 5 GAMES – LEBANON
| 3/06/21 | ARC | Lebanon | 1 – 0 | Djibouti | |
| 02/09/21 | WQA | UAE | 0 – 0 | Lebanon | |
| 07/09/21 | WQA | Korea Republic | 1 – 0 | Lebanon | |
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Kwon Chang-Hoon 60′
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| 07/10/21 | WQA | Iraq | 0 – 0 | Lebanon | |
| 12/10/21 | WQA | Syria | 2 – 3 | Lebanon | |
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Omar Khribin 20′
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1 – 0
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1 – 1
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45′ Mohamad Kdouh
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1 – 2
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45′ Mohamad Kdouh
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1 – 3
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53′ Soony Saad
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Omar Al Somah 64′
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2 – 3
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Head2Head
In 25 years of competition, Lebanon managed to score two goals only while Team Melli has a handsome 27 against the Lebanese.
The only win for Lebanon came in a World Cup Qualifier.
| Venue | Matches | W | D | L | Goals | + / – |
| Home | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 – 0 | +14 |
| Away | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 – 2 | +9 |
| Neutral | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 – 0 | +2 |
| Total | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 27 – 2 | +25 |
| Date | Comp. | Venue | Final score | Result | Stadium | Attendance |
| 19.11.2013 | Asian Cup Qualifier | A | 4 – 1 | W | Sports City, Beirut | xxx |
| 11.06.2013 | World Cup Qualifier | H | 4 – 0 | W | Azadi Stadium, Tehran | 91,300 |
| 06.02.2013 | Asian Cup Qualifier / Group B | H | 5 – 0 | W | Azadi Stadium, Tehran | 19,733 |
| 11.09.2012 | World Cup Qualifier | A | 0 – 1 | L | Camille Chamoun Sports City, Beirut | 10,000 |
| 17.06.2004 | WAFF / WAFF | H | 4 – 0 | W | Azadi Stadium, Tehran | 40,000 |
| 28.11.2003 | Asian Cup Qualifier | H | 1 – 0 | W | Azadi Stadium, Tehran | 20,000 |
| 19.11.2003 | Asian Cup Qualifier | A | 3 – 0 | W | Madina Al Riyadhiya, Beirut | 5,000 |
| 03.09.2002 | WAFF / Group 1 | N | 2 – 0 | W | Al Abbassyin Stadium, Damascus | 2000 |
| 12.10.2000 | Asian Cup / Group A | A | 4 – 0 | W | Sports City, Beirut | 52,418 |
| 13.11.1996 | Friendly / Friendly | A | 0 – 0 | D | Beirut | 50,000 |