Lebanon women's national football team

Lebanon women's national football team
The Lebanon women's national football team 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 runners-up at the 2022 edition of the WAFF Women's Championship, and in third place at the 2007 and 2019 editions.
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", their home kit is predominately red and their away kit white, in reference to their national flag. From 2014 Lebanon's FIFA ranking has been relatively steady, with their best ranking being 102nd in December 2013 and their worst being 145th between April and August 2021.
History
2005–2018: Formation and first tournaments
Known as "the Lady Cedars", the Lebanon women's national team was formed in 2005 as 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.
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 thanks to an Iman Chaito hat-trick, and finished in third place in the tournament. In their second WAFF Women's Championship in 2011 they were drawn with Iran, Syria and hosts the United Arab Emirates (UAE). After losing their first match against Iran 8–1, Lebanon won 1–0 against Syria. In their final match, against the UAE, Lebanon lost 5–0 and were knocked out of the competition.
Managed by Farid Nujaim, Lebanon took part in the qualification campaign for the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup. This was their first official qualification tournament, eight years from their inception. They were drawn with Jordan, Uzbekistan and Kuwait in their group. In their first match, they lost 5–0 against Jordan before being defeated by Uzbekistan 4–0. Already eliminated, Lebanon beat Kuwait 12–1 in a consolatory victory, ending their qualifying campaign with three points.
Lebanon were drawn with Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Guam and Palestine in the 2018 Asian Cup qualification, to be played in the West Bank in Palestine. However, Lebanon withdrew as they refused to play on the grounds that "it legitimises Israel's occupation of the territory".
2019–present: Recent history
Coached by Wael Gharzeddine, Lebanon competed in the 2019 WAFF Women's Championship in January. They began their campaign with a slim 3–2 defeat to hosts Bahrain. In their second match, Lebanon's late goals in each half secured a 2–0 win over the UAE. They then suffered a 3–1 defeat to Jordan, before beating Palestine 3–0, finishing in third place.
In the 2021 Arab Women's Cup, played in August, Lebanon were drawn with Egypt, Tunisia and Sudan. Following a 0–0 to Tunisia, Lebanon's first-ever draw, they lost 4–0 to hosts Egypt. In their final group stage game, Lebanon beat Sudan 5–1, and finished third in their group with four points.
The team began the qualifiers for the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup in October 2021, losing 4–0 to Myanmar; a 1–0 win against the UAE, and a 3–0 win against Guam were not enough to qualify them to their first-ever Asian Cup, as Lebanon finished in second place and were eliminated.
Between August and September 2022, Lebanon took part in the 2022 WAFF Women's Championship in Jordan under coach Hagop Demirjian. After winning 3–0 against Palestine, Lebanon lost to hosts Jordan 2–1 before winning the last game against Syria 5–2. They finished runners-up in the WAFF Championship for the first time, with Lebanon's Lili Iskandar being voted best player of the tournament.
Results and fixtures
As of 30 September 2023, the complete official match record of the Lebanese women's national team comprises 53 matches: 20 wins, 3 draws, and 30 losses. During these matches, the team scored 92 times and conceded 158 goals. Lebanon's highest winning margin is 11 goals, which has been achieved against Kuwait in 2013 (12–1).
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Legend
2023
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2023 SAFF Women's International Friendly Tournament (Taif).
Recent call-ups
The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past 12 months, but are not part of the current squad.
Individual records
Players in bold are still active with Lebanon.
Most-capped players
Top scorers
Competitive record
FIFA Women's World Cup
Summer Olympics
AFC Women's Asian Cup
Arab Women's Cup
WAFF Women's Championship
Other tournaments
FIFA world rankings
Lebanon were first included in the FIFA World Ranking in September 2011, placing in 124th place. Until early 2021, FIFA's ranking criteria required teams to have been active in the previous 18 months to be listed. As Lebanon went inactive for 18 months for several periods, they were unranked in various years (2014, 2016, 2017, 2020). Lebanon's best ranking was 102nd in December 2013, and their worst was 145th between April and August 2021.
The table shows the position that Lebanon held in December of each year (and the current position as of 2023), as well as the highest and lowest positions annually.
Best ranking Worst ranking
See also
List of women's national association football teams
Lebanon women's national under-20 football team
Lebanon women's national under-17 football team
Lebanese Women's Football League
Women's football in Lebanon
Footnotes
References
External links
FIFA team profile
AFC team profile
WAFF team profile
Asian women's national association football teams
national