Preparations have only been started in the last three weeks … Lebanon and Iraq in West Asia!

Ali Zainuddin-

A serious test for the Lebanese football team, led by the new Romanian coach Livio Civotario. The test is the first after the last Asian Championships, which the team reached in the playoffs, during which it achieved an acceptable performance, in a group including both Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The West Asian matches that Lebanon will start today will be an important preparation station for the near future and the experience of new players who will form the backbone of the World Cup and World Cup qualifiers. 'Asia. It is certain that the team after this tournament will not be like before. Great responsibility for the players and the technical staff, as well as for the management of the game.

The West Asian men's football championship kicks off on Tuesday with an opening match between the Lebanese national team and hosts of the Iraqi national team (19:30 Beirut time) at the Karbala International Stadium. The participation of Lebanon will be like a preparatory camp for the qualifiers of the World Cup "Qatar 2022" and the Asian Cup "China 2023". Unlike the rest of the teams, the appointment of a coach has been delayed and preparations have been made over the past three weeks with exercises on several stadiums in Beirut, with no friendly matches since the end of the World Championship. Asia in January. In general, the four matches will be an opportunity for the technical staff to test the greatest number of players, although these games do not look like those of the group that Lebanon signed during the World Cup qualifiers, but that remains important.

The face of Iraq will be the first for Romanian coach Livio Civotario and the first for a number of local players, who will be tested before foreign professionals are part of the team at the World Cup playoffs. At least seven international professionals, along with Adnan Haider, will make up at least six technical staff, the places are almost booked and the best performance of this tournament ensures a place in double qualification. But this task will not be easy for the players, nor for the coaching staff.

Four games in 10 days, which logically means that the coach is supposed to register for the tournament and that his calculations are two basic formations, which means that all players will participate, with the exception maybe a goalkeeper, so Mahdi Khalil will not play every game of course.

Chibotario will have two options: either face Iraq with a group of international players, those who have already played for the old team, only 12, and risk facing new Syrian faces to rest the participants of the first game, or distribute roles on both games, which is the most logical solution. In both cases, the coach will face a tough test in midfield selection, in the absence of Haitham Faour, for his surprised surprise retirement a few days ago, and for Adnan Haidar for his absence from exercises, as well as the presence of three players on defense mission, including two summoned for the first time, Yahya al-Hindi and Ahmad Jalul, with Nader Matar.

This often means that the possibility of relying on the draw (3.5) adopted by Montenegro coach Miodrag Radolovic is very impressive now, especially as a large number of defenders are on the list. . The left-back, which is only occupied by Hbadan Shuito "Shpreko", who is also among those who have never played an international match, despite the constant call of the Former coach. This, for example, is a problem of several problems left by the former coach behind him, not a particular center, but the dependence on the same names for a long time.

Overall, the choices of the Roman coach are quite logical. This is the first time in a long time that the Lebanese public is convinced of the elements calling for the representation of the first team, although some have asked for other elements, which is of course expected: there is no consensus on a list, other players could be recalled in the coming period, although the league championship is badociated with early qualifying. The menu included the call of a new guardian, Ali, aged seven, and the second sitting on the bench long without being involved, Mustafa Matar. The two guards were chosen instead of Shaker Wahbi and Ahmad Al-Taktuk.

For the first time, right-back Hussein Zein was summoned in the absence of Ali Hammam. Radulovic said in an interview to "News" that Zain's permanent form absence for three years, due to the fact that Hammam occupies the back, who is the most experienced. Of course, if the former Montenegrin coach called the Convention player three years ago to benefit the participants and have the necessary international experience, he participated with his team in more than 100 local matches, in addition to his participation in the AFC Cup and the Arab Championship.

Strong defender Khalil Khamis is also among the team's new recruits, along with Hbadan Bitar also on defense. They are attacked during the attack Ahmed Hijazi and Ali Aladdin. The latter are the best Lebanese scorers of the local championship, with Sony Saad and Mohamed Kaddouh. The attack options are many, while the former coach has always been looking for attackers and usually relies on Hilal Hilwa, who now sits in the Bundesliga. These four are able to occupy the center of the Frankish and other forwards, and with the presence of the new Ansar and Captain Hbadan Maatouk, in addition to Mohammed Haydar and the spring Ataya and Hbadan Shaito "Money", the recording of a goal in the tournament will only be a matter of time.

Contrary to what is negotiated, the Lebanese team will be the strongest in terms of names, compared to its competitors. This does not mean that he is the first candidate to lead his group, but the Lebanese team strongly relies on names that play locally. The two brothers Alexandre and Felix Melki, for example, had played only one match before the last Asian Cup, Basil Grady was still out, Omar Boughel was in reserve and Samir Ayas was playing with Al Ahd. , Were the only professional players he relied on, while the others were local players.

The teams in the running, however, miss a significant number of main players for their badociation with their clubs. FIFA has approved the West Asian Championship as an official international tournament, but the letter to the Iraqi federation, which includes this approval, reached three days before the opening match, which means that Local badociations are able to compel clubs to dispense with team players. And the matches will be included in the FIFA rankings.

In general, facing Iraq will be the hardest and meeting Syria will not be easier either, while the balance between the Lebanese team and its Palestinian counterpart is the same, the l '. Yemeni team is the weak link of this group on paper.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain belong to the second group. The leaders of each group will qualify for the final on August 14th.

Preparation of Iraq

The Iraqi Federation considers the tournament as an organizational test, first and foremost in its quest to persuade "FIFA" to lift the ban on stadiums in the capital, especially given the remarkable improvement in of security. According to the Agence France-Presse, the deputy head of the Iraqi federation Ali Jabbar, the country's success in the organization of the tournament will support requests to lift the ban. "We hope for a remarkable organizational success that will help support the demands of Iraq to lift the ban on Baghdad's playgrounds, as well as Iraq's willingness to host any gathering football, "he said.

Streshko Katanic, Slovenia coach, said on the green rectangle that "playing nearly five matches in this tournament is a good opportunity to raise the level of preparation before the qualifications for Asia and create a clear technical vision for the players ". The team is competing with a team missing from Ali Adnan, Justin Meram and Muhannad Ali for their badociation with Canadian clubs Whitecaps and Atlanta United respectively.

For his part, the president of the Syrian Football Federation, Fadi Dabbas, on the sidelines of the camp "Nsour Qbadim" led by coach Dawn Ibrahim, to "make the effort required to achieve honorable results and a competition for the championship title and the reconciliation of the public, before the expected result of the qualifiers of the Asian Cup and the World Cup. "

In turn, the Palestinian team was the first to reach the city of Karbala, where Algerian coach Noureddine Ould Ali on the bet "on our young players we hope to provide a good level".