Lebanon will put aside its three resounding victories in the first round over the Philippines (85-80), New Zealand (86-72) and India (104-63) and lead the standings in Group D when it faces its Chinese counterpart in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup for men hosted by Indonesia until Sunday Next, at four o’clock in the afternoon, Beirut time, in a new “confrontation” between Lebanon and China in an official competition, after they had previously faced each other in the previous World Cup qualifiers and within the Asian Cup competition.
With the end of the first round, the Lebanese team ranked first among the Asian countries participating in the great Asian competition, ahead of the second Australia, the third South Korea, the fourth Iran and the fifth New Zealand, thanks to its high performance in its three matches within the first round and within specific technical criteria.
The match between Lebanon, a country of 5 million people, and China, a country of a billion and a half, is a “life or death” match for the two countries, as there is no room for any mistake or “incomplete pedantry” because the loser will be automatically eliminated from the competition, but the winner will qualify for the semi-finals.
In the history of the confrontations between the two teams, Lebanon succeeded only once in the previous World Cup qualifiers at home in Nohad Nawfal Complex, while the Chinese Dragon won in the rest of the matches, the most famous of which were three within the Asian Cup.
The Lebanese team will enter the match with high spirits and without any loss in the tournament, seeking to renew the victory it achieved over China in the World Cup qualifiers and qualify for the semi-finals to face the winner of the Iran-Jordan match, who won at the deadly time through a historic triple over China Taipei and qualified for the round Quarter-finals at a time when China will seek to inflict Lebanon’s first loss in the tournament and keep it out of the competition. Lebanon knows that its task will not be easy in a match in which the factor of concentration will play a major role.
In terms of players, the Chinese team includes 6 players over two meters tall: Zhi Wang (2.12 m), Qi Zhou (2.12 m), Zi Ming (2.10 m), Xhao Zhai (2.05 m), Hao Fu (2.07 m) and Gun Gu ( 2.01 m).
As for the Lebanese national team, it has five players above two metres. They are Ali Haidar, Karim Ezz El-Din and Jonathan Arledge, each of whom is 2.06 m tall. As for Youssef Khayat, his height is 2.03 m, like Hayek Keojian.
And if the difference in height will be in the interest of the Chinese, then the Lebanese team is able, through its homogeneous squad, to face the Chinese, especially as it includes fierce fighters. In addition to those we mentioned previously, the squad includes Sergio Darwish, Wael Arakji (one of the most prominent players in the first round), Ali Mizher, Ali Mansour and Karim Zenon, Gerard Hadidian and Elie Chamoun, led by coach Jad Al-Hajj.