Football: Sri Lanka goes down fighting to Lebanon 2-3 in FIFA WC qualifiers

Lebanon came from behind to defeat Sri Lanka 3-2 in Group H of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 at the Goyang Stadium in South Korea today (5).

Sri Lanka struck first in the 10th minute when Ahmed Waseem Razeek put his team in the lead but Joan Oumari equalized within the next minute to make it 1-1 by the 11th minute.

Lebanon took the lead in the 17th minute with a goal from Jalal Kdouh before Oumari struck for the second time in the 44th minute as the eventual winners were in command by 3-1 at halftime. 

Sri Lanka defended exceptionally in the second half, not allowing Lebanon to make inroads as Razeek made use of the penalty kick to put his team back on track in the 61st minute as they trailed 2-3. 

However both teams players equally well to attack and defence as the game ended in favour of Lebanon, who now leads the Group H table with three wins and a draw. 

Sri Lanka is at fourth, behind South Korea and Turkmenistan, without a win in five games, as North Korea lies bottom of the table without no play. 

In the first round, Lebanon beat Sri Lanka 3-0 on October 15, 2019.