Sporting Kansas City forward Soony Saad will join the Lebanon Men’s National Team for a friendly vs. Pakistan on Feb. 19 and an AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Thailand on March 5. Saad will join the squad next week ahead of their friendly vs. Pakistan and will re-join Sporting KC following their Asian Cup qualifier at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok.
"I feel honored to be selected for the upcoming trip," Saad said. "I'm looking forward to making an impact and giving it my all. We'll continue to work hard and hopefully get some good results.”
Group B |
||
|---|---|---|
Team |
PTs |
GD |
Iran |
13 |
+12 |
Kuwait |
9 |
+4 |
Lebanon |
5 |
-5 |
Thailand |
0 |
-11 |
Lebanon is currently in third place in their 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifying group behind Iran and Kuwait. The top two teams from each of the five groups will advance to the next round along with the third-place team with the most points at the conclusion of the group stage.
With only one group stage match remaining, Lebanon is mathematically eliminated from finishing in the top two of their group, however, The Cedars are only one point back of Iraq in the third-place standings. Iraq will host The People’s Republic of China in their final group stage match on March 5.
Lebanon defeated Thailand 5-2 in their first meeting in Beirut on March 22. China PR defeated Iraq 1-0 in their earlier meeting in Changsha.
“It's a huge game in Thailand for Asian Cup qualifying,” Saad added. “It's incredible to represent your national team so I'm excited. I know I have Sporting's full support and I'm looking forward to it."
Saad has two caps for Lebanon and opened his international scoring account in his debut in a 1-1 draw against Oman last May. In 2013, Saad set career highs for Sporting KC, appearing in 23 games with 15 starts and tallying four goals and four assists.
