Sporting Kansas City forward Soony Saad and Lebanon have successfully qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
The Cedars cruised to a 5-0 win over North Korea on Tuesday in Beirut, Lebanon to clinch a top-two finish in Group B with two games to spare. Saad, who has earned nine caps for Lebanon since debuting in 2013, was an unused substitute in the victory.
Lebanon will play two more qualifying matches, visiting Hong Kong on Nov. 14 before hosting Malaysia next March. The Cedars will then turn their attention to the AFC Asian Cup, Asia’s quadrennial national team tournament in which Lebanon made its lone appearance in 2000. The 2019 edition will feature 24 teams, running from Jan. 5 to Feb. 1 in the United Arab Emirates.
2019 AFC Asian Cup Qualifying – Group B
Team |
PTS |
W |
L |
D |
GF |
GA |
GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lebanon |
10 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
11 |
3 |
+8 |
Hong Kong |
5 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
North Korea |
2 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
8 |
-5 |
Malaysia |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
-3 |
