FOOTBALL – YEMEN and Lebanon played out a goalless stalemate in their AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round Group B match yesterday.
The point earned saw Lebanon stay top of the group on four points, one ahead of Brunei Darussalam with Yemen on two.
Looking to improve on the Matchday One stalemate with Bhutan, Yemen head coach Noureddine Ali included Nasser Al-Gahwashi, Abdulaziz Masnom and Omar Ahmed in the starting line-up.
Having kicked off their campaign with a 5-0 win against Brunei Darussalam, Lebanon’s Miodrag Radulovic kept faith with nine of those who started that match in March with only Hasan Srour and Daniel Kuri coming into the fray.
Despite dominating possession in the first half, Lebanon were not able to test Yemen goalkeeper Aman Khairallah in the opening 45 minutes.
The second half mirrored the first period of play with Lebanon continuing to have more of the ball without creating clear cut chances.
The introduction of Adel Abbas, Mamdooh Saleh and Abdulmajeed Sabarah for Yemen saw them forcing a flurry of corner kicks in stoppage time but it was to no avail.
Meanwhile, Syria secured their second win in a row after edging Afghanistan 1-0 in their Group E match.
Syria - on six points - are level with Myanmar, who also defeated Pakistan 1-0 in their tie.
Playing at the neutral venue of Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Stadium, Syria came into the tie having defeated Pakistan 2-0 in March, while Afghanistan fell to a 1-0 defeat against Myanmar on Matchday One.
Syria got off to a fast start, with veteran striker Omar Al Somah finding the back of the net in the sixth minute.
Afghanistan were unable to find a way back in the remaining minutes as Syria took the win.
Singapore edged Bangladesh 2-1 in their Group C match.
The result put Singapore level on four points with Hong Kong, China, who beat India 1-0 in their tie.
Bangladesh controlled the game from the first blow of the whistle as they threatened through Rakib Hossain, while Singapore were quick on the counter with Ikhsan Fandi trying his luck from distance.
The visitors almost came through in the 24th minute but Ikhsan found the side netting before Bangladesh survived another scare with the Ratchaburi FC forward forcing keeper Mitul Marma into a save.
Bangladesh began to find their stride and went close in the 36th minute when Hamza Choudhury blasted his shot over the bar off a set-piece situation.
However, it was Singapore who took the lead at the 45th-minute mark when Marma failed to clear a deflected Hariss Harun shot, with Ryhan Stewart guiding the rebound into the path of Song Ui-young to volley home from close range.
The home side started the second half strongly but their efforts to draw level were undone in the 58th minute after Marma fumbled a routine save off Hami Syahin’s long range effort into the path of Ikhsan, who made no mistake in steering the ball past the rooted custodian.
A careless play from Singapore allowed Bangladesh to reduce the deficit in the 67th minute with Choudhury sending Hossain through on goal, with the Bashundhara Kings player slotting the ball past a diving Izwan Mahbud.
&uuid=(email))