Lebanon women's national football team

The Lebanon women's national football team[lower-alpha 1] is the official women's national football team of the country of Lebanon. The team was established in 2005, and is controlled by the Lebanon Football Association (LFA), the governing body for football in Lebanon. Whilst the team has yet to qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup, or the AFC Women's Asian Cup, they have finished in third place at the 2007 and 2019 editions of the WAFF Women's Championship.

Lebanon
Nickname(s)صبايا الأرز
(The Lady Cedars)
AssociationLebanon Football Association
(الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم)
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationWAFF (West Asia)
Head coachWael Gharzeddine
CaptainTatiana Khalil
Top scorerSara Bakri (8)
Home stadiumVarious
FIFA codeLBN
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
CurrentNR (18 December 2020)[1]
Highest92 (December 2009)
Lowest148 (September 2018)
First international
 Algeria 12–0 Lebanon 
(Alexandria, Egypt; 19 April 2006)
Biggest win
 Lebanon 12–1 Kuwait 
(Amman, Jordan; 9 June 2013)
Biggest defeat
 Greece 14–0 Lebanon 
(Pegeia, Cyprus; 12 March 2015)
WAFF Women's Championship
Appearances3 (first in 2007)
Best resultThird place (2007, 2019)

Lebanon played their first match in 2006 against Algeria in a 12–0 defeat at the Arab Women's Championship. However, their first qualification campaign took place eight years later, on the occasion of the 2014 Women's Asian Cup. While Lebanon ultimately failed to qualify for the final tournament, they won 12–1 against Kuwait on 9 June 2013 in their biggest win to date.

Colloquially called "the Lady Cedars" (Arabic: صبايا الأرز), their home kit is predominately red and their away kit white, in reference to their national flag. From 2006 Lebanon's FIFA ranking has been relatively steady, with their best ranking being 92nd in December 2009 and their worst being 148th in September 2018.

History

Known as "the Lady Cedars" (Arabic: صبايا الأرز),[2][3] the Lebanon women's national team was formed in 2005.[4] Along with Jordan, Iran, Palestine and Syria, they are one of the earliest women's national teams in the West Asian Football Federation. Their first match was a 12–0 defeat against Algeria at the 2006 Arab Women's Championship. They finished in last place after three games without having scored a single goal.[5] Their first WAFF Women's Championship campaign was in 2007; after two 3–0 losses, first against Jordan and then against Iran, Lebanon beat Syria 7–0 finishing in third place in the tournament.[6]

In their second WAFF Women's Championship in 2011 they were drawn with Iran, Syria and hosts the United Arab Emirates (UAE).[7][8] After losing their first match on 4 October against Iran 8–1, Lebanon won 1–0 thanks to a Ghinwa Saleh goal against Syria. In their final match, against the UAE, Lebanon lost 5–0 and were knocked out of the competition.[8]

Managed first by Vatche Sarkissian and then by Farid Nujaim, Lebanon took part in the qualification campaign for the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup. This would be their first official qualification tournament, eight years from their inception.[9] They were drawn with Jordan, Uzbekistan and Kuwait in their group.[10] In their first match, they lost 0–5 against Jordan before being defeated by Uzbekistan 0–4. Already eliminated, Lebanon beat Kuwait 12–1 in a consolatory victory,[11] ending their qualifying campaign with three points.[10]

Lebanon during the 2019 WAFF Women's Championship third place award ceremony.

Coached by Wael Gharzeddine, Lebanon competed in the 2019 WAFF Women's Championship. They began their campaign on 7 January with a slim 3–2 defeat to hosts Bahrain; in the 57th minute Hanin Tamim gave Lebanon the lead, but the opposing team scored three goals in 12 minutes. Dima Al Kasti's late consolation goal was not enough for a comeback.[12] In their second match, played two days later, Lebanon's late goals in each half, the first by Rana Mokdad, the second by Samira Awad, secured a 2–0 win over the UAE.[13] On 11 January, Lebanon suffered a 3–1 defeat to Jordan; after conceding two goals in the first 12 minutes and a third in the 56th minute, Hanin Tamim scored a goal to end the match.[14] After a four-day rest, Lebanon played their final match against Palestine. Three first-half goals, scored by Hanin Tamim, who grabbed her third goal of the tournament, Aya Jurdi and Samira Awad gave Lebanon all three points, finishing in third place.[2]

Players

Current squad

The following 22 players were called up for the 2019 WAFF Women's Championship.[15]
Caps, goals and player numbers are correct as of 15 January 2019 after the match against Palestine.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Racha Yaghi (2002-06-10) 10 June 2002 5 0 Safa
22 1GK Yasmine Sardouk (2000-05-20) 20 May 2000 1 0 ÓBerytus
23 1GK Arlette Ghostine (2002-06-25) 25 June 2002 0 0 Safa

2 2DF Mira Hoteit (2000-09-20) 20 September 2000 4 0 Safa
3 2DF Christelle Bedran (2000-12-05) 5 December 2000 3 0 ÓBerytus
4 2DF Amal Salha (2000-12-02) 2 December 2000 2 0 Safa
5 2DF Lara Bahlawan (1994-09-05) 5 September 1994 12 3 SAS
12 2DF Aya Jamal Eddine (1997-10-11) 11 October 1997 5 0 Safa
14 2DF Ithamar Romanos (1999-05-10) 10 May 1999 4 0 EFP
15 2DF Aya Al Jurdi (1998-04-08) 8 April 1998 3 1 SAS
17 2DF Dima Alkasty (2001-12-13) 13 December 2001 3 1 Safa
18 2DF Celine Al Haddad (2001-03-12) 12 March 2001 3 0 SAS

6 3MF Tatiana Khalil (captain) (1992-11-03) 3 November 1992 4 1 SAS
8 3MF Lili Iskandar (2002-05-16) 16 May 2002 6 0 SAS
13 3MF Rhea May Taleb (2001-03-20) 20 March 2001 1 0 Safa
16 3MF Joya Maria Azzi (2000-09-23) 23 September 2000 3 0 EFP
19 3MF Rana Al Mokdad (1998-11-18) 18 November 1998 4 1 SAS
20 3MF Aya Boukhary (2002-10-04) 4 October 2002 2 0 Safa
21 3MF Fatima Al-Zahra Khashab (1999-07-22) 22 July 1999 3 0 BFA

7 4FW Samira Awad (2000-06-30) 30 June 2000 6 2 Safa
10 4FW Yara Bou Rada (2000-08-07) 7 August 2000 6 0 SAS
11 4FW Hanin Tamim (2000-04-05) 5 April 2000 6 3 SAS

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record Qualification record
Host nation(s)
and year
Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA
1991 Did not enter Did not enter
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015 Did not qualify The 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup served as the qualifying tournament
2019 Withdrew Withdrew
2023 To be decided The 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup will serve as the qualifying tournament
Total 0/8 Total

Summer Olympics

Summer Olympics record Qualification record
Host nation(s)
and year
Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA
1996 Did not enter The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup served as the qualifying tournament
2000 The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup served as the qualifying tournament
2004 Did not enter
2008
2012
2016
2020 Did not qualify 3rd of 3 2 0 0 2 0 12
2024 To be decided To be decided
Total 0/7 Total 2 0 0 2 0 12

AFC Women's Asian Cup

AFC Women's Asian Cup record Qualification record
Host nation(s)
and year
Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA
1975 Did not enter Did not enter
1977
1980
1981
1983
1986
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2006
2008
2010
2014 Did not qualify 3rd of 4 3 1 0 2 12 10
2018 Withdrew Withdrew
2022 To be decided To be decided
Total 0/19 Total 3 1 0 2 12 10

WAFF Women's Championship

WAFF Women's Championship record
Host nation(s)
and year
Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad
2005 Did not enter
2007 Third place 3rd of 4 3 1 0 2 7 6
2010 Did not enter
2011 Group stage 5th of 8 3 1 0 2 2 13
2014 Did not enter
2019 Third place 3rd of 5 4 2 0 2 8 6 Squad
Total Best: third place 3/6 10 4 0 6 17 25

Other tournaments

Tournament Result
2006 Arab Women's Championship Group stage
2010 Arabia Women's Cup Group stage

Records and fixtures

As of 15 January 2019, the complete official match record of the Lebanese women's national team comprises 32 matches: nine wins and 22 losses.[16] During these matches, the team scored 50 times and conceded 118 goals. Lebanon's highest winning margin is 11 goals, which has been achieved against Kuwait in 2013 (12–1).[11]

FIFA rankings

Below is a chart of Lebanon's FIFA ranking from 2006 to the present. Following a drastic increase of 52 positions (from 144th in 2007 to 92nd in 2009, their best ranking to date), the country went through a steady decline (from 92nd in 2009 to 142nd in 2020, with their lowest ranking at 148th in September 2018).[17]

See also

Footnotes

  1. Arabic: المنتخب اللبناني لكرة القدم النسائي
    French: Équipe du Liban féminine de football

References

  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  2. "Perfect Jordan retain West Asian title". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  3. "صبايا الأرز تهز شباك هونغ كونغ بسداسية نظيفة". football-lebanon.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  4. Wehbé, Johana (27 June 2019). "Au Liban aussi les femmes ont leur place sur un terrain de foot - Johana Wehbé". L'Orient-Le Jour (in French). Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  5. "Arab Womens Championship". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  6. "West Asia Womens Championship". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  7. "4th WAFF women championship starts Monday the 3rd of October 2011". the-waff.com. 6 May 2012. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  8. "West Asian Championship (Women) 2011 (United Arab Emirates)". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  9. "FIFA Women's World Cup 2015™ - News - Lebanon's women breaking new ground - FIFA.com". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  10. "Summary - Women's Asian Cup Qualification - Asia - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  11. "Lebanon beats Kuwait 12-1 in women's Asia soccer qualifiers". Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). 9 June 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  12. "Winning starts for Jordan, Bahrain in WAFF Women's Championship". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  13. "Rampant Bahrain continue winning ways". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  14. "Jordan stay perfect, Palestine, UAE remain winless". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  15. "سيدات لبنان إلى البحرين لبطولة غرب آسيا". lebanonfg.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  16. "Live Scores – Lebanon – Women's – Matches". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  17. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Associations - Lebanon - Women's". FIFA.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
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