For the hope of the country - the soujourn journey of Lebanon and its World Cup dream chasing
When the final whistle of the match between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan blew in Mrsool Park, the entire Uzbek players collapsed to the field, coach Vadim Abramov quietly entered the conference room disillusioned. Uzbekistan suffered a heavy 0-3 loss to Saudi Arabia and finished second with 15 points. But North Korea's withdrawal ruined the campaign - FIFA and AFC both agreed that points against fifth-placed teams of the remaining groups would not be counted. All six points Uzbekistan gathered from Yemen vanished to the air, and it could only obtain 9 points. A win or a draw only with more than one goal could guarantee them to progress, instead, Uzbekistan missed out on the final phase for the first time ever. Not far away, in a country deepened by the economic crisis and political sectarian turmoils, the fans jumped into the street after hearing Uzbekistan defeated by Saudi Arabia. Yes, we talk about Lebanon, the smallest country in mainland Asia with a population of no more than f...