The Lebanese national football team has qualified for the 2019 Asian Cup after crushing DPR Korea 5-0 in the home leg of the match-up at Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium here.
Lebanon took a commanding 2-0 lead in the first half after striker Hilal al-Hilweh and Captain Hasan Maatouk scored a goal each on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.
The hosts showed no signs of stopping in the second half, as Samir Ayass put the ball in the back of the net in the 49th minute.
Ali Hamam scored in the 78th minute before Rabih Ataya finished off a dazzling solo-run to score in the final seconds of the match.
Lebanon was trying to make its first Asian Cup appearance since hosting the tournament in 2000.
Under Coach Miodrag Radulovic, the team currently sit at the top of Group B with 10 points from their first four games.
Tuesday's game was Lebanon's fourth of the qualifiers and DPR Korea's third. The DPR Koreans remain in third place with 2 points from their three games.
Earlier in the day, the Hong Kong team beat Malaysia 2-0 to take up second place with five points. Malaysia sit at the bottom of the table with 1 point in three games.
--IANS
sam/dg
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