Lebanon Earns Precious 3 Pts by Beating Kuwait 1-0 in WCup Qualifier

Lebanon beat Kuwait 1-0 on Friday to move into second place in Group B of the Asian qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup.

Mahmoud al-Ali scored the winner after 57 minutes. Abbas Atwi collected the ball on the edge of the area from Ahmed Zreik before sliding a pass through to al-Ali, who lifted the ball over the oncoming Nawaf al Khaldi.

Kuwait dominated the first half but was unable to make a breakthrough despite early injuries to Lebanon defenders Youssef Mohammed and Abbas Kenaan in the opening 10 minutes.

Abdul Aziz Ashwan caused trouble down the left hand side, latching onto long balls in the first half but Lebanon held firm. Al-Ali and Roda Antar both went close after the break as Lebanon made frequent counterattacks in the closing stages before securing all three points.

The win moved Lebanon onto seven points from four games, three points behind group leader South Korea. Kuwait remains on five points, while United Arab Emirates is last with no points.