Lenbanon optimistic about Asian Cup qualification

Lebanon midfielder Roda Antar remains optimistic that his country can qualify for the 2007 Asian Cup finals despite being drawn in the "Group of Death" alongside AFC newcomer Australia, 2004 Asian Cup semi-finalist Bahrain and Kuwait.

"To be honest, we are the lowest team in the group," Antar told footballasia.com.

"Australia has qualified to the World Cup finals this summer and Bahrain, impressed at the previous Asian Cup while Kuwait reached the final round of the World Cup qualifiers.

"But I'm still optimistic that we can do something if the players stand together. We will try to do our best and with two teams advancing from each group we still have a chance," added the 25-year-old who plays his club football in the German second division with SC Freiburg.

However, national team skipper Youseff Mohamad is not as confident as his club and country teammate, saying that Lebanon still has much to improve before embarking on its mission to reach the Asian Cup finals for only the second time since hosting the event in 2000.

"It's really a shame that we haven't started preparing the qualifiers yet," said Mohamad.

"We still don't have a coach and we don't know whether there will be any friendlies in the next 90 days.

"It's a very tough group. There is Australia, who is a big team, Bahrain, a great side at the moment with several good players and while I don't know a lot about Kuwait, I know they will not be easy to beat.

"I just hope that everything goes well and we will be able to get decent results in this tough group."

Despite being considered the outsider of Group D, Lebanon should not be taken lightly as it held South Korea to a 1-1 draw in Beirut in the World Cup qualifying tournament.

"The draw is very hard for us and we have to put in extra effort if we are to get a ticket to the finals," said Ahmed Kammareddin, the President of the Lebanon national teams committee.

"We have a good group of players and we are looking to prepare them very well. We'll probably assign a local coaching staff as we cannot afford bringing any foreign coaches," he added.

Lebanon begins its quest for a place in the 2007 Asian Cup on February 22 when it hosts Kuwait, who has qualified to all but the 1992 finals since making its tournament debut in 1972.

Source: Xinhua