Doha: Head coach Petar Segrt applauded the mental resilience of his players after Tajikistan came from behind to defeat Lebanon 2-1 in their AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ Group A tie on Monday.

Victory meant Tajikistan sealed a place in the knockout stage in their debut campaign, with a Round of 16 clash against the Group C runners-up on Sunday as their reward. 

The 56-year-old may have lost his spectacles amidst the joyous scenes after the final whistle but Segrt could see clearly where the match was won against Lebanon.

“It was a fantastic game, a tough game,” said the Croatian. “Don’t forget, two times we got our goals canceled, it was the right decision but mentally, it can be draining so I’m very proud of my players, they showed great fight.

“Lebanon played well but I thought we would get chances because we could see them tiring, so we just needed to keep attacking. This kind of game, you play for your life. 

“I believe in these boys, they have great characters. Tajikistan people are fighters and they will fight until the end.

“Just this morning I spoke to Joachim Low (former Germany manager) and told him this is a wonderful tournament and you can see that in this game.

“For us, this is a big dream to qualify for this tournament. Then the dream became to qualify for the knockout stage. Now we dream again.”

Bassel Jradi opened the scoring for Lebanon just after half-time but Kassem El Zein’s red card turned the tide in Tajikistan’s favour with Parvizdzhon Umarbaev netting the equaliser in the 80th minute before Nuriddin Khamrokulov headed in the winner two minutes into stoppage time.

A disappointed Lebanon head coach Miodrag Radulovic admitted the red card was the turning point in a match that was seemingly proceeding the way he wanted.

“It’s very difficult to talk after this game because we had everything in our hands,” said Radulovic. “We played a good game, perfect until 56 minutes then after one lapse of concentration, we got a red card. 

“In such a tough game, it’s difficult to play so long with one man less. But I’m proud of my team’s performance and fight. Even with one man less, we still created chances to score. This team has a great future.”

Defeat meant Lebanon’s wait for a knockout stage appearance continues but for Tajikistan, the dream lives on.