Football
Nicolas Anil 7y

Ghaddar left out by Lebanon for Asian Cup qualifier vs. Malaysia

Malaysia won't have to deal with the threat of Mohammed Ghaddar when they host Lebanon in the AFC Asian Cup qualifier in Johor Bahru on June 13.

The Lebanon FA announced that the potent striker from Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) has been dropped for the game at Larkin Stadium.

"Mohammed Ghaddar has been left out of Lebanon's squad by Miodrag Radulovic because of a captaincy issue between the top scorer of the Malaysian League and the coaching staff," read a statement from the Lebanon FA.

Ghaddar's omission will come as a relief to Malaysian defenders, who have seen the former Kelantan hot shot terrorise teams week in, week out since the start of the 2017 domestic campaign.

The 33-year-old tops the Malaysia Super League scoring charts on 18 goals, a profilic strike rate that saw JDT splurge a record transfer fee to lure him from Kota Bahru last month.

Ghaddar has already opened his account in the Asian Cup qualifiers, scoring against Hong Kong to help Lebanon to a 2-0 win over Hong Kong on March 28.

That win sees the West Asian nation top Group B on three points.

But the Malaysians, under new national head coach Nelo Vingada will still have to deal with the threat of Lebanon's other dangerous forwards.

Pacey striker Omar Bugiel, who helped English League Two club Forest Green to a mid-table finish this season, is the one new face in the Lebanon squad.

Bugiel, who was born and raised in Germany, is the only Lebanese player to ply his trade in Europe.

Radulovic also has the Malaysian-based Moataz Bellah from Felda United and Kelantan's new forward Abu Bakr Al Mel to unleash on the new-look Malaysia.

As for Malaysia, JDT's 11 representatives will join the other 15 squad members for centralised training at the Padang Seri Gelam facility in Johor Bahru on Friday.

JDT were knocked out of the AFC Cup on the away goals' rule after losing 2-1 to Ceres-Negros in a semifinal, second leg tie in the Philippines.

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