Beirut: Lebanon take on DPR Korea on Tuesday knowing a third victory in four qualifiers will push them even closer to their first appearance in the Finals of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 since hosting the tournament back in 2000.
But despite sitting on top of Group B with an unbeaten record, coach Miodrag Radulovic is concerned complacency could still derail his team’s hopes of qualifying for the 2019 finals in the United Arab Emirates.
“It is very important and should be a very decisive match because we are now on the verge of qualifying,” said the Montenegrin coach of the meeting at Beirut’s Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium.
“The match on Tuesday will not be easy and I’m afraid of the mentality because we are now on the top of the group with seven points and everyone thinks that it is already over, which is not true.
“We should respect DPR Korea, who are a good team and they played twice before in the FIFA World Cup and four times in the Asian Cup.
"Our target is to continue our good results, finish on top of the group and improve in the FIFA ranking.”
Lebanon have dropped just two points in the first half of their qualifying campaign, with that coming when they drew 2-2 in their previous meeting with DPR Korea in Pyongyang in September.
And, while the record pleases the 49-year-old, it is the manner in which his team have performed that satisfies him even more.
“We played two away matches and one at home so far and we managed to get seven points, which is very good,” said Radulovic.
“The most important thing for me is that we played good football and scored six goals so far. This is very important for me as a coach.
“Previously, when the players used to concede a goal, they stopped playing, while now they are playing for the whole 90 minutes with good performance and we scored late goals as well.
"In Malaysia we made a good comeback and in the last match, we got a good draw in the last minutes.”
Lebanon scored two late goals to secure a 2-1 win over Malaysia on July
Lebanon have come a long way since Radulovic’s appointment in 2015 with the country regaining the form that saw them reach the final phase of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Finals in Brazil in 2014.
Then, under Theo Bucker, Lebanon had looked capable of joining the upper tier of Asian nations with wins over Korea Republic and Islamic Republic of Iran, only to fall back with Giuseppe Giannini at the helm and miss out on the AFC Asian Cup finals in Australia in early 2015.
Radulovic replaced the Italian following that disappointment and the team have not looked back since.
“We should be satisfied about the results and more especially with our performance,” said the former Pakhtakor and Kazma coach.
“Last year we started to regenerate the team and we are changing generations at the moment. It is not easy to change the team and make results.
“We started very well and we have now a different kind of national team with a change of character for the players and so far, I’m happy with the team.
“Football is for today and tomorrow and we can’t think a lot about the past.
"We should prepare this team and players who can play together for six years at least as the age average of the players is very good.
We have a young team as we have only two players who are above 30 years old. This is a good team for the future.”
Hong Kong and Malaysia will meet in the other game in Group A, with Malaysia seeking their first win of the campaign under Portuguese coach Nelo Vingada while Hong Kong could jump into second place should they secure all three points and Lebanon maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign.
Photos: AFC
Source: the-afc.com