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Lebanon women's national under-20 football team

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Lebanon under-20
Nickname(s)صبايا الأرز
(The Lady Cedars)
AssociationLebanon Football Association
(الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم)
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationWAFF (West Asia)
Head coachFrancois Dahdah
Home stadiumVarious
FIFA codeLBN
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Jordan 3–0 Lebanon 
(Amman, Jordan; 5 November 2014)
Biggest win
 Hong Kong 0–6 Lebanon 
(Jounieh, Lebanon; 24 October 2018)
Biggest defeat
 South Korea 9–0 Lebanon 
(Hanoi, Vietnam; 26 April 2019)
WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
Appearances4 (first in 2018)
Best resultChampions (2019, 2022)
Medal record
Women's football
WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
Gold medal – first place 2019 Bahrain
Gold medal – first place 2022 Lebanon
Silver medal – second place 2018 Lebanon
Silver medal – second place 2024 Jordan

The Lebanon women's national under-20 football team (Arabic: منتخب لبنان لكرة القدم تحت 20 سنة للسيدات), colloquially known as "the Lady Cedars" (Arabic: صبايا الأرز),[1][2] represents Lebanon in international women's youth football. The team is controlled by the Lebanon Football Association (LFA), the governing body for football in Lebanon. The team also serves as the women's national under-19 and women's national under-18 football team of Lebanon.

While the team has never participated in either the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup or the AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup, they have won two WAFF U-18 Girls Championship titles, in 2019 and 2022, and were runners-up in 2018 and 2024.

History

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Lineup of eleven players of the Lebanon women's national under-20 football team. The outfield players are wearing red kits, and the goalkeeper is wearing a blue kit.
Lebanon U18 at the 2022 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship

Early history (2014–2019)

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The national team played their first competitive matches at the qualifiers for the 2015 AFC U-19 Women's Championship in November 2014.[3] Drawn with Jordan, Uzbekistan and India, Lebanon lost all three games,[4][5] finishing last in their qualifying group.[3] Following funding and initiatives by the Lebanese Football Association towards women's football,[6] and more specifically youth women's football, the women's national youth teams started to see success, especially in Western Asia.[7] As of 2020, there were separate club leagues for the U15s, U17s, U19s and seniors.[8]

In 2018 Lebanon hosted the inaugural WAFF U-18 Women's Championship between August and September, in preparation for the 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification the following October.[8] After defeating Palestine 3–0 in the opening game, Lebanon lost 2–1 to Jordan in the effective final of the WAFF Championship and finished runners-up.[9] In October 2018, Lebanon hosted their group in the first round of Asian qualifiers, in which they were drawn with Australia, Mongolia and Hong Kong;[8] despite losing 2–0 to Australia, Lebanon won against the other two teams (thanks to four goals by Yara Bou Rada against Hong Kong and three goals by Samira Awad) and qualified to the second round.[10][11] They were the only Arab country to do so.[6]

During this period, most of the U19s players were also called up to the senior team. In January 2019, 17 of the 23 players called up to the 2019 WAFF Women's Championship in Bahrain came from the U19 team, bringing the average age of the squad to 18.9 years. Lebanon eventually finished third.[8] The players returned in April 2019 to compete in the second round of Asian U-19 qualifiers.[8] Needing a second-place finish in their group of four teams to reach the final tournament, Lebanon finished last after losing against South Korea, Vietnam and Iran.[12]

West Asian success (2019–present)

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The team's first success came in 2019, in the second edition of the WAFF U-18 Championship in Bahrain. After winning all three games in the group stage, Lebanon advanced the semi-finals, where they defeated Palestine 4–2 to reach the final against hosts Bahrain. Lebanon won 3–0 and were crowned champions for the first time.[13] Three years later, in 2022, Lebanon won their second-consecutive WAFF Championship title on home soil after beating Syria 5–1 in the final.[14]

In March 2023, Lebanon took part in the first round of 2024 Asian Cup qualification,[15] which had been rebranded as an under-20 competition.[16] After defeating Bhutan (6–2) and Mongolia (7–0), Lebanon drew their decisive game against Jordan (0–0) and progressed to the second round for the second consecutive year.[17][18] Less than three months later, in June, Lebanon were drawn with Australia, Vietnam and Iran.[19] Similarly to 2019, Lebanon lost all three matches and finished last in their group.[20]

In November 2024, Lebanon participated in the fourth edition of the WAFF U-18 Girls Championship; the tournament was played in a single round-robin format, with defending champions Lebanon finishing second in a group with Jordan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.[21]

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

2024

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28 November 2024 (2024-11-28) 2024 WAFF U-18 Jordan  1–1  Lebanon Aqaba, Jordan
19:00 UTC+3
  • Marar 82' (pen.)
 Report (JFA)
Report (LFA)
Report (WAFF)
Stadium: Aqaba Stadium
Referee: Baraa Abu Aisha (Palestine)
30 November 2024 (2024-11-30) 2024 WAFF U-18 Lebanon  Voided
(0–3)		  Syria Aqaba, Jordan
16:00 UTC+3 Report (LFA)
Report (WAFF)
Stadium: Aqaba Stadium
Referee: Esraa Al-Mbaiden (Jordan)
Note: The West Asian Football Federation received a letter from the Syrian Football Association prior to their match against Saudi Arabia on 6 December 2024, apologizing for their withdrawal from the championship due to prevailing circumstances related to the ongoing Syrian opposition offensives. Consequently, Syria's previous matches were voided.[22]
2 December 2024 (2024-12-02) 2024 WAFF U-18 Lebanon  4–0  Saudi Arabia Aqaba, Jordan
19:00 UTC+3
Report (LFA)
Report (WAFF)		 Stadium: Aqaba Stadium
Referee: Yasmin Nairoukh (Palestine)
4 December 2024 (2024-12-04) 2024 WAFF U-18 Palestine  1–1  Lebanon Aqaba, Jordan
16:00 UTC+3
Report (WAFF)
Stadium: Aqaba Stadium
Referee: Haneen Murad (Jordan)
6 December 2024 (2024-12-06) Friendly Lebanon  4–0  Saudi Arabia Aqaba, Jordan
--:-- UTC+3
Report Stadium: Aqaba Stadium

2025

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31 March 2025 (2025-03-31) 2025 UEFA Friendship Cup GS Lebanon  0–1  Tanzania Riva, Turkey
16:30 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: TFF Riva Facility
3 April 2025 (2025-04-03) 2025 UEFA Friendship Cup GS Finland  4–0  Lebanon Riva, Turkey
11:30 UTC+3
Report Stadium: TFF Riva Facility
6 April 2025 (2025-04-06) 2025 UEFA Friendship Cup GS Jamaica  1–4  Lebanon Riva, Turkey
12:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: TFF Riva Facility
9 April 2025 (2025-04-09) 2025 UEFA Friendship Cup 5th–6th Turkey  4–1  Lebanon Riva, Turkey
11:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: TFF Riva Facility
6 August 2025 (2025-08-06) 2026 AFC U-20 qualification Lebanon  v  Cambodia Yinchuan, China
--:-- 
8 August 2025 (2025-08-08) 2026 AFC U-20 qualification Syria  v  Lebanon Yinchuan, China
--:-- 
10 August 2025 (2025-08-10) 2026 AFC U-20 qualification China  v  Lebanon Yinchuan, China
--:-- 

Players

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Current squad

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The following players were called up for the 2025 UEFA Friendship Cup, held in Turkey between 31 March and 9 April 2025.[23]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1 1GK Marcelle Skaiki (2007-02-01) 1 February 2007 (age 18) Lebanon No Limits
23 1GK Nour Hammoudy (2007-03-08) 8 March 2007 (age 18) Lebanon BFA
2 2DF Haya Najjad (2008-01-06) 6 January 2008 (age 17) Lebanon BFA
3 2DF Ayana Rezkallah (2008-04-21) 21 April 2008 (age 17) Lebanon EFP
8 2DF Paula Karam (2007-09-20) 20 September 2007 (age 17) Lebanon Jounieh
13 2DF Chloe Maalouf (2008-08-28) 28 August 2008 (age 16) Lebanon Jounieh
16 2DF Sarah Fakih (2008-03-22) 22 March 2008 (age 17) Lebanon Southern Stars
6 3MF Shereen Karnib (2008-08-25) 25 August 2008 (age 16) Australia Western Sydney Wanderers
10 3MF Cecile Iskandar (captain) (2007-03-12) 12 March 2007 (age 18) Lebanon EFP
11 3MF Celine Bitar (2007-07-17) 17 July 2007 (age 17) Lebanon Salam Zgharta
17 3MF Tatianna Kanaan (2007-02-09) 9 February 2007 (age 18) Lebanon Salam Zgharta
18 3MF Elissa Hariri (2007-04-08) 8 April 2007 (age 18) Australia Sydney Olympic
7 4FW Lea El Hajj Ali (2008-06-04) 4 June 2008 (age 16) Lebanon BFA
9 4FW Mariam Hamaoui (2007-03-13) 13 March 2007 (age 18) Canada FC Viktoria
12 4FW Caren Serhal (2008-01-01) 1 January 2008 (age 17) Lebanon No Limits
14 4FW Lynn Moutran (2008-08-25) 25 August 2008 (age 16) Lebanon BFA
15 4FW Remi Melli (2008-07-04) 4 July 2008 (age 16) Lebanon Jabal Hasbaya
19 4FW Maryam Lazkani (2007-07-03) 3 July 2007 (age 17) United States Santa Clara Sporting
20 4FW Luna Khazem (2007-11-01) 1 November 2007 (age 17) United States Cypress Chargers
21 4FW Sherin Hasno (2007-03-25) 25 March 2007 (age 18) Denmark HB Køge

Recent call-ups

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The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past 12 months, but are not part of the current squad.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Marie-Joe Chebli (2009-02-14) 14 February 2009 (age 16) - - Lebanon EFP 2024 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
GK Ghenwa Karam (2010-12-04) 4 December 2010 (age 14) - - Lebanon BFA Training camp; November 2024
DF Asiyah Zreika (2006-04-07) 7 April 2006 (age 19) - - Lebanon EFP 2024 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
DF Joya Bou Assaf (2009-10-15) 15 October 2009 (age 15) - - Lebanon Jounieh 2024 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
DF Waed Raed (2006-11-09) 9 November 2006 (age 18) - - Lebanon ÓBerytus 2024 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
DF Anna Ousyran (2006-11-11) 11 November 2006 (age 18) - - Lebanon FC Beirut Training camp; November 2024
MF Lama Abdine (2006-09-09) 9 September 2006 (age 18) - - Lebanon BFA 2024 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
MF Rama Moghrabi (2010-10-20) 20 October 2010 (age 14) - - Lebanon Salam Zgharta 2024 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
MF Yara El Gitani (2010-09-24) 24 September 2010 (age 14) - - Lebanon ÓBerytus 2024 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
MF Noura Dawy (2008-11-08) 8 November 2008 (age 16) - - Lebanon BFA Training camp; November 2024
MF Calina Osman (2009-05-25) 25 May 2009 (age 16) - - Lebanon BFA Training camp; November 2024
FW Angelina Saade (2006-06-23) 23 June 2006 (age 18) - - United States Trinity Valley Cardinals 2024 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
FW Yasmine Hamdar (2007-07-24) 24 July 2007 (age 17) - - Lebanon ÓBerytus 2024 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
FW Sara Issa (2009-02-18) 18 February 2009 (age 16) - - Lebanon Jounieh Training camp; November 2024
FW Razan Timani (2006-10-14) 14 October 2006 (age 18) - - Lebanon Akhaa Ahli Aley Training camp; November 2024

Competitive record

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FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

[edit]
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup record[24] Qualification record
Host nation(s)
and year 		Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA
Canada 2002 Did not enter Did not enter
Thailand 2004
Russia 2006
Chile 2008
Germany 2010
Japan 2012
Canada 2014
Papua New Guinea 2016 Did not qualify The 2015 AFC U-19 Women's Championship served as the qualifying tournament
France 2018 Did not enter Did not enter
Costa Rica 2022 Did not qualify The 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship served as the qualifying tournament
Colombia 2024 The 2024 AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup served as the qualifying tournament
Poland 2026 To be determined The 2026 AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup will serve as the qualifying tournament
Total – 0/12 – – – – – – – Total – – – – – –

AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup

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AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup record[25] Qualification record
Host nation(s)
and year 		Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA
India 2002 Did not enter Did not enter
China 2004
Malaysia 2006
China 2007
China 2009
Vietnam 2011
China 2013
China 2015 Did not qualify 4th of 4 3 0 0 3 1 13
China 2017 Did not enter Did not enter
Thailand 2019 Did not qualify 2nd of 5, 4th of 4 6 2 0 4 12 20
Uzbekistan 2024 1st of 4, 4th of 4 6 2 1 3 14 12
Thailand 2026 To be determined Ongoing
Total – 0/11 – – – – – – – Total 15 4 1 10 27 45

WAFF U-18 Girls Championship

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WAFF U-20 Girls Championship record
Host nation(s)

and year

Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA
Lebanon 2018[26] Runners-up 2nd of 3 2 1 0 1 4 2
Bahrain 2019[27] Champions 1st of 7 5 5 0 0 17 3
Lebanon 2022[14] Champions 1st of 7 4 4 0 0 13 2
Jordan 2024 Runners-up 2nd of 4 3 1 2 0 6 2
Jordan 2025 Did not participate
Total Best: champions 4/5 14 11 2 1 40 9

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Abou Diab, Rami (17 August 2018). "U18 Women's West Asian Football Championship". FA Lebanon. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. ^ Saqr, Hassan (24 October 2018). صبايا الأرز تهز شباك هونغ كونغ بسداسية نظيفة [The Lady Cedars score six past the Hong Kong goal]. Football Lebanon (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b Di Maggio, Roberto (28 August 2018). "Asian Women U-19 Championship 2015". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  4. ^ Qteishat, Yahya (5 November 2014). منتخب الشابات يفوزعلى نظيره اللبناني بثلاثية ويتصدر [The women's youth national team beat its Lebanese counterpart 3–0]. alghad.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  5. ^ بالصور : منتخب الشابات يفوز على الهند في التصفيات الاسيوية [In pictures: Women's national football team beat India in Asian qualifiers]. almadenahnews.com (in Arabic). 7 November 2014. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b Wehbé, Johana (27 June 2019). "Au Liban aussi les femmes ont leur place sur un terrain de foot" [In Lebanon too, women have their place on a football field]. L'Orient-Le Jour (in French). Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  7. ^ "New horizons for women's football in Lebanon". FIFA. 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Women's National Team head coach Wael Gharzeddine: the best is yet to come". FA Lebanon. 4 March 2020. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Jordan take West Asian crown on road to qualifiers". Asian Football Confederation. 2 September 2018. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  10. ^ FA Lebanon [@falebanon] (28 October 2018). "HISTORIC WIN!! LEBANON qualify for the round 2 of the AFC U-19 Women's Championship Qualifiers" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 November 2022 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "AFC U-19 Women's Championship 2019 | Qualifiers Round 1". Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  12. ^ Iranidoost, Kamal (30 April 2019). "Iran thrashes Lebanon at AFC U19 Women's C'ships". Mehr News Agency. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Lebanon Crowned the WAFF U18 Girls Title". West Asian Football Federation. 6 January 2020. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  14. ^ a b المنتخب اللبناني يتوّج بلقب بطولة الشابات الثالثة [The Lebanon national team is crowned with the title of the third Girls Championship]. West Asian Football Federation (in Arabic). 25 October 2022. Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  15. ^ Keuchkerian, Karine (4 November 2022). "Lebanon Is Set To Participate In The AFC Women's Asian Cup For U17 & U20". The961. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  16. ^ "AFC Women's Football Committee approves AFC Women's Club Championship". AFC. 27 September 2019. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  17. ^ Asian Football Confederation [@afcasiancup] (12 March 2023). "A goalless draw is enough to send Lebanon through to the #U20WAC Qualifiers Round 2 as Group D leaders!" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 June 2023 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "AFC Womens U20 Asian Cup | Qualifiers Round 1". Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Iran, Lebanon land in Vietnam for U20 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers". VnExpress International. 1 June 2023. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Qualifiers Group A: Australia beat Vietnam to finish top". Asian Football Confederation. 7 June 2023. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  21. ^ منتخب شابات الأردن بطلا لغرب آسيا [Jordan women's youth team wins the West Asia Championship]. Kooora (in Arabic). 6 December 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  22. ^ "إلغاء لقاء سوريا والسعودية في غرب آسيا للشابات". kooora.com (in Arabic). 6 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  23. ^ بعثة منتخب لبنان للشابات تغادر إلى تركيا [The Lebanese women's youth team departs for Türkiye] (in Arabic). Lebanese Football Association. 29 March 2025. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  24. ^ Di Maggio, Roberto; Schaal, Markus (1 March 2023). "Women U-19/U-20 World Cup". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023. Source note: To view Lebanon's tournament-specific details in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, click on the specific year under "Palmares", then "Asia" or "AFC" under "Overview qualifying tournaments".
  25. ^ Di Maggio, Roberto (1 March 2023). "Asian Women U-19/U-20 Championship". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023. Source note: To view Lebanon's tournament-specific details in the AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup, click on the specific year under "Palmares".
  26. ^ "WAFF U-18 Women Championship 2018". Goalzz.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  27. ^ "WAFF U-18 Women Championship 2020". Goalzz.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
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