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3. Football – West Asia U17: Lebanon into the Final, Syria Knocked out on Penalties

In Aqaba, Lebanon’s U17s eliminated Syria at the end of a suffocating derby: 1–1 in regulation time, 4–3 on penalties. On to the final, next Tuesday.

Mission accomplished. In the heat of Aqaba, the Lebanon U17 national team kept their nerves to clinch their ticket to the final of the 12th West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) edition. A cup-tie script: early opener from Youssef Badran (12'), Syrian equalizer, then a knife-edge shootout where the young Cedars kept a steady hand (4–3). Organization, calm, solidarity: the winning trio of a foundational evening.

Match storyline
Sharp start from the Lebanese, compact block, lightning projection: on a set attack conducted in three touches, Youssef Badran shifted onto his strong foot and finished with a clean strike inside the post (12'). The lead freed the Cedars, who imposed their rhythm in the first half: coordinated pressing, inside coverage, disciplined fullbacks.
After the break, Syria raised the tone, won duels, found the equalizer, and forced Lebanon to defend their box with courage. The last half hour turned into a tactical arm-wrestle: managing weak spells, useful substitutions, lines tightened to hold out to the end of regulation time.

Penalties: Lebanese composure
From the spot, the U17s kept their cool. Lebanon converted four attempts, Syria faltered once: 4–3 on the board, eruption on the Lebanese side. Goalkeeper Jason Feninos produced the save that was needed; his teammates did the rest. The reward for discipline at every moment.

The goalscorer
A scorer as early as the 12th minute, Youssef Badran launched the evening and set the framework for the game plan: well-timed projection, clinical finish. Behind him, the collective platform made the difference, with a hard-working midfield and a back line focused to the end.

Match sheet
Lebanon U17 1–1 Syria U17 (4–3 pens.) – WAFF U17 semifinal, Aqaba Stadium (Jordan).
Goals: Badran (12') for Lebanon; Syrian equalizer in the second half.
Lebanon: Jason Feninos – Marc Abi Mansour, Hatem Safieddine, William Khiami, Anthony Chahine – Karim Jomaa (Nader Assi 64'), Issa Daher, Antoine Assaf – Youssef Badran (Amir Ezzedine 68'), Iyad Eid (Kamal Azar 46'), Adnan Madi (Abbas Zreik 64').

On to the final
Next up: the final, next Tuesday (Aqaba), against the winner of Jordan–Saudi Arabia. Stated objective: keep the same seriousness without the ball, make the most of transitions, and ride the confidence gained in the penalty shootout. One more step for a generation learning quickly to win together.