Lebanon national under-20 football team

The Lebanon national under-20 football team (Arabic: منتخب لبنان تحت 20 سنة لكرة القدم) is the national under-20 football team of Lebanon and is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The team also serves as the national under-19 and national under-18 football teams of Lebanon.

Lebanon under-20
Nicknameمنتخب الشباب (The Youth Team)
AssociationLebanese Football Association
(الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم)
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationWAFF (West Asia)
Head coachHassan Hassoun
Home stadiumVarious
FIFA codeLBN
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Lebanon 0–0 India 
(Tehran, Iran; 14 April 1973)
Biggest win
 Lebanon 6–1 Singapore 
(Dushanbe, Tajikistan; 18 September 2022)
Biggest defeat
 Syria 6–0 Lebanon 
(Fujairah, United Arab Emirates; 2 November 2011)
AFC U-20 Asian Cup
Appearances2 (first in 1973)
Best resultQuarter-finals (1973)
Arab Cup U-20
Appearances3 (first in 1985)
Best resultGroup stage (1985, 2021, 2022)
WAFF U-18 Championship
Appearances2 (first in 2021)
Best resultRunners-up (2021)

While the team has never qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, they have participated twice in the AFC U-20 Asian Cup, in 1973 and in 2008, with their best result being reaching the quarter-finals in the 1973 edition.[1][2] In the 2021 WAFF U-18 Championship, the U18 team made history by becoming the first Lebanon men's national team to reach a final, losing to hosts Iraq on penalty-shootouts.[3] They also participate in the Arab Cup U-20 and Jeux de la Francophonie, failing to go past the group stage in both competitions.

Notable former under-20 players include Nour Mansour, Rabih Ataya, and Mohamad Haidar,[4] who all went on to play for the senior side.[5]

Competitive record

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FIFA U-20 World Cup

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FIFA U-20 World Cup record Qualification record
Host nation(s)
and year
Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA
Tunisia 1977 Did not enter Did not enter
Japan 1979
Australia 1981
Mexico 1983
Soviet Union 1985
Chile 1987
Saudi Arabia 1989 Did not qualify The 1988 AFC Youth Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Portugal 1991 The 1990 AFC Youth Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Australia 1993 The 1992 AFC Youth Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Qatar 1995 The 1994 AFC Youth Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Malaysia 1997 The 1996 AFC Youth Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Nigeria 1999 The 1998 AFC Youth Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Argentina 2001 The 2000 AFC Youth Championship served as the qualifying tournament
United Arab Emirates 2003 Withdrew Withdrew
Netherlands 2005 Did not qualify The 2004 AFC Youth Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Canada 2007 The 2006 AFC Youth Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Egypt 2009 The 2008 AFC U-19 Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Colombia 2011 Withdrew Withdrew
Turkey 2013 Did not qualify The 2012 AFC U-19 Championship served as the qualifying tournament
New Zealand 2015 The 2014 AFC U-19 Championship served as the qualifying tournament
South Korea 2017 The 2016 AFC U-19 Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Poland 2019 The 2018 AFC U-19 Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Argentina 2023 The 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup served as the qualifying tournament
Chile 2025 The 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup served as the qualifying tournament
AzerbaijanUzbekistan 2027 To be determined The 2027 AFC U-20 Asian Cup we serve as the qualifying tournament
Total0/25Total

AFC U-20 Asian Cup

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AFC U-20 Asian Cup record Qualification record
Host nation(s)
and year
Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA
Malaysia 1959 Did not enter Did not enter
Malaysia 1960
Thailand 1961
Thailand 1962
Malaysia 1963
South Vietnam 1964
Japan 1965
Philippines 1966
Thailand 1967
South Korea 1968
Thailand 1969
Philippines 1970
Japan 1971
Thailand 1972
Iran 1973 Quarter-finals5th of 14413031 Qualified as invitees
Thailand 1974 Did not enter Did not enter
Kuwait 1975
Thailand 1976
Iran 1977
Bangladesh 1978
Thailand 1980
Thailand 1982
United Arab Emirates 1985
Saudi Arabia 1986
Qatar 1988 Did not qualify 3rd of 3430184
Indonesia 1990 Did not enter Did not enter
United Arab Emirates 1992 Did not qualify
Indonesia 1994
South Korea 1996 4th of 4300317
Thailand 1998
Iran 2000 4th of 5410359
Qatar 2002 Withdrew Withdrew
Malaysia 2004 Did not qualify 3rd of 3201112
India 2006 3rd of 3200216
Saudi Arabia 2008 Round 115th of 163003212Squad 2nd of 65401104
China 2010 Withdrew Withdrew
United Arab Emirates 2012 Did not qualify 3rd of 5420238
Myanmar 2014 3rd of 4301228
Bahrain 2016 3rd of 4311145
Indonesia 2018 3rd of 3200204
Uzbekistan 2020 2nd of 4311132
Uzbekistan 2023 2nd of 4320175
China 2025 4th of 54103118
China 2027 To be determined To be determined
TotalBest: quarter-finals2/417133513Total

Arab Cup U-20

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Arab Cup U-20 record
Host nation(s)
and year
Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad
Morocco 1983 Did not participate
Algeria 1985 Group stage9th of 12210111
Iraq 1989 Did not participate
Morocco 2011 Did not participate
Jordan 2012
Qatar 2014 Cancelled
Saudi Arabia 2020 Did not participate
Egypt 2021 Group stage15th of 163003210
Saudi Arabia 2022 Group stage14th of 18200214Squad
Iraq 2026 To be determined
Egypt 2028
TotalBest: group stage1/55005314

WAFF U-18 Championship

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WAFF U-18 Championship record
Host nation(s)
and year
Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad
Palestine 2019 Did not participate
Iraq 2021 Runners-up2nd of 9422031
Saudi Arabia 2024 Group stage12th of 12300306
Kuwait 2026 To be determined
TotalBest: runners-up2/3722337

Mediterranean Games

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Jeux de la Francophonie

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Jeux de la Francophonie record
Host nation,
city and year
Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad
Morocco Casablanca 1989 Did not participate
France Paris 1994
Madagascar Antananarivo 1997
Canada Ottawa 2001
Niger Niamey 2005
Lebanon Beirut 2009 Group stage9th of 9200215Squad
France Nice 2013 Group stage14 of 143003110Squad
Ivory Coast Abidjan 2017 Group stage13 of 16301225Squad
Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa 2023 Group stage8th of 9201116Squad
TotalBest: group stage4/910028526

Results and fixtures

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The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2026

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31 August 2026 (2026-08-31) 2027 Asian Cup qualification South Korea  v  Lebanon Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
--:-- UTC+6
3 September 2026 (2026-09-03) 2027 Asian Cup qualification Lebanon  v  Kyrgyzstan Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
--:-- UTC+6
6 September 2026 (2026-09-06) 2027 Asian Cup qualification Philippines  v  Lebanon Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
--:-- UTC+6

Players

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The following players were called up for the 2024 WAFF U-19 Championship.[6]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1GK Joseph Bitar Lebanese Football Association Salam Zgharta
1GK Christian Awkar Lebanese Football Association Safa
1GK Bahaa El Abdallah Lebanese Football Association AC Tripoli

2DF Josef Elhajj (2005-03-30) 30 March 2005 (age 21) German Football Association SGV Freiberg
2DF Rawad Al Jaitani (2005-04-02) 2 April 2005 (age 21) Lebanese Football Association Salam Zgharta
2DF Mahmoud Saif Eddin Lebanese Football Association Ansar
2DF Kassem Watfa Lebanese Football Association Tadamon Sour
2DF Ryan El Khoury Lebanese Football Association Shabab Sahel
2DF Mohammad Al Baalbaki Lebanese Football Association Safa
2DF Sajed Faraj Lebanese Football Association Bint Jbeil

3MF Hassan Jaafar Lebanese Football Association Shabab Sahel
3MF Ibrahim Mhanna Lebanese Football Association Ukhouwa Kharayeb
3MF Miguel Karam Lebanese Football Association Racing Beirut
3MF Hassan Salami Lebanese Football Association Shabab Sahel
3MF Hassan Nasser Lebanese Football Association Ansar
3MF Anis Nehme (2005-07-01) 1 July 2005 (age 20) German Football Association TSV Havelse

4FW Muhammad Kassas Lebanese Football Association Ukhouwa Kharayeb
4FW Ali Fakih Lebanese Football Association Shabab Sahel
4FW Karim Kassem Lebanese Football Association Tadamon Sour
4FW Karim Sleem Lebanese Football Association Ahed
4FW Mansour Al Masri Football Australia Australasian Soccer Academy
4FW Zein Salame Portuguese Football Federation Portimonense
4FW Issa Beydoun (2005-05-12) 12 May 2005 (age 21) German Football Association SV Waldhof Mannheim

See also

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References

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  1. Morrison, Neil (18 June 2015). "Asian U-19 Championship 1973". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  2. Zlotkowski, Andre; Di Maggio, Roberto (15 July 2011). "Asian U-20 Championship 2008". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  3. Al-Hasani, Maytham (1 December 2021). بالصور.. ركلات الترجيح تحفظ لقب غرب آسيا لشباب العراق [In pictures... Penalty kicks save the West Asian title for Iraq's youth team]. Kooora (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  4. "DPR Korea v Lebanon" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. 1 November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  5. Mamrud, Roberto (2 May 2022). "Lebanon – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  6. 23 لاعبًا على لائحة منتخبنا الوطني للمشاركة في بطولة الديار العربية غرب آسيا للشباب 2024 في السعودية. Lebanese Football Association (in Arabic). 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.