“Al-Annabi” wins Lebanon with a “treble” in the opening of the Asian Cup

Doha (AFP)

Qatar began the campaign to defend its title, with a promising victory over Lebanon 3-0, this Friday evening, at Lusail Stadium in Doha, in the first group competitions of the Asian Football Cup finals. Akram Afif (45 and 96) and Al-Moez Ali (56) scored goals. “Al-Anabi”, and the group also includes the teams of China and Tajikistan, who will meet tomorrow.
The match was revenge for the Lebanese national team, which lost to its Qatari counterpart 0-2 in the group stage of the last edition, “UAE 2019”, but “Al Annabi” renewed its victory today.
The victory is the eighth in a row for Qatar in the continental finals, after it was crowned champion in the last edition with a perfect record, winning all seven of its matches.
Qatar raised its score to 3 points at the top of Group A, while Lebanon remained without a score.
Qatar will meet in the second round next Wednesday with Tajikistan, while Lebanon will play on the same day with China.
The match was preceded by an opening ceremony titled The Lost Chapter of Kalila and Dimna, which is a collection of ancient historical stories that reflect the cultural diversity within the “Yellow Continent.” During the ceremony, the official song of the tournament was sung. The ceremony also witnessed artistic performances and fireworks, and a representative singing show was performed by a group of the most prominent… Qatari and Arab artists.
24 teams participate in the tournament, including 10 Arab teams distributed into 6 groups. The first and second from each group qualify for the final 16, in addition to the 4 best third-place teams.
This is the first time that the Asian Cup matches will be held in the FIFA World Cup stadiums, as seven stadiums hosted the Qatar 2022 matches out of the nine stadiums hosting the matches.
Losail Stadium, which witnessed Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, win the World Cup after a thrilling final against France, will host the final match on February 10.