Lebanon national football team
The Lebanon national football team,[a] controlled by the Lebanese Football Association (LFA), have represented Lebanon in association football since their inception in 1933. The squad is governed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) continentally, and FIFA worldwide. While Lebanon have yet to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, they have qualified three times to the AFC Asian Cup: they first participated in 2000, when they hosted the event. Lebanon's main venue is the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut; however they also play in other locations such as the Saida Municipal Stadium in Sidon.
This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Lebanon women's national football team.Nickname(s)
رجال الأرز
(The Cedars)
Lebanese Football Association
(الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم)
AFC (Asia)
WAFF (West Asia)
Hassan Maatouk (123)
LBN
117 
3 (20 June 2024)[1]
77 (September 2018)
178 (April–May 2011)
3 (first in 2000)
8 (first in 1963)
Third place (1963)
7 (first in 2000)
Group stage (7 times)
the-lfa
In 1935, Lebanon played their first match against the Romanian side CA Timișoara (TAC), but it was not ratified by FIFA. Lebanon played their first FIFA-recognised game in 1940 against Mandatory Palestine. During their 2014 qualification campaign for the World Cup, Lebanon reached the final qualifying round for the first time thanks to a 2–1 victory against South Korea at home in 2011, but failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup finishing bottom of their group. At the 2019 Asian Cup, Lebanon were close to qualifying to the knock-out stages for the first time. However, they lost a tiebreaker to Vietnam in the third-place ranking on the fair play rule and were knocked out of the competition at the group stage. Lebanon also compete in the Arab Cup, the WAFF Championship, and the Arab Games. As hosts, they have finished third—once at the Arab Cup and twice at the Arab Games.
Inspired by their national symbol, the Lebanese team is known as "the Cedars" (Arabic: رجال الأرز) by fans and media. Their home kit is primarily red and their away kit white, a reference to their national flag. After a steady decline in their FIFA ranking from 1998 to 2016, Lebanon jumped 66 places (from 147th in 2016 to 81st in 2018) and reached their highest rank to date—77th—in September 2018. This came after a 16-game unbeaten streak, from 29 March 2016 to 9 September 2018, during which Lebanon won eight games and drew eight.
History[edit]
1933–1957: Formation and early years[edit]
Lebanon was one of the first nations in the Middle East to establish an administrative body for association football.[b][3] On 22 March 1933, representatives of 13 football clubs gathered in the Minet El Hosn district in Beirut to form the Lebanese Football Association (LFA).[4][5] The LFA was first headed by Hussein Sejaan,[6] and joined FIFA in 1936.[5][7]
On 3 February 1934, 22 players from Beirut were called up to a training camp by the LFA in view of a friendly game against the Romanian side CA Timișoara (TAC); the players were divided into two teams, and played against each other at the American University of Beirut's (AUB) field.[8] The match against TAC, scheduled to be played on 18 February, was cancelled due to financial disagreements between the LFA and the AUB, who organised the encounter.[9] The Beirut select team eventually played against TAC on 21 November 1935 at AUB's field,[10] losing 3–0.[11] Beirut XI played their first game against Syria's Damascus XI in 1939 at the Habib Abou Chahla Stadium; the match ended in a 5–4 loss.[12] The two teams played 16 unofficial games until 1963, winning seven, drawing two, and losing seven.[12]