Lincoln Red Imps 3-1 Inter Club d’Escaldes ( att : 721 ) – 2026/27 UEFA Champions League

July 7, 2026

The 2026 World Cup Finals might still be playing out its last 16 ties, but today saw the official start of the 2026/27 season in Europe with some first legs of the First Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League.

Rather than watch Argentina vs Eqypt in the World Cup, Fatbear chose to watch the match between the champions of Gibraltar against the champions of Andorra. Gibraltar were currently 47^th in UEFA coefficients, compared to 51^st for Andorra, out of 55 countries.

These diaries had previously featured one game from Gibraltar, when Bruno’s Magpies beat Lions Gibraltar 2-0 back in December 2022.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2022/12/fc-brunos-magpies-2-0-lions-gibraltar.html 

Inter Club d’Escaldes had appeared once in these diaries, when they participated in the 2021/2022 Champions League Preliminary Qualification tournament, which was held in Albania in June 2021. After beating HB Torshavn of the Faroe Islands 1-0, Inter were eliminated after a 0-2 defeat to FC Prishtina from Kosovo.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2021/06/uefa-champions-league-202122.html 

Football In Gibraltar

The Gibraltar national side are currently 202^nd in the FIFA rankings, and in June they brought an end to a 12-game losing streak with home friendly victories over British Virgin Islands ( 4-0 ) and Cayman Islands ( 4-1 ). Prior to that awful run they had enjoyed being unbeaten in 7 games, having beaten Andorra and San Marino, and drawing with Wales, Moldova, San Marino and Liechtenstein ( twice ).

Gibraltar had in their history also recorded wins over Armenia, Malta, Estonia and Lichtenstein, and draws with Slovakia, Bulgaria, Grenada and Faroe Islands.

Following Manchester 62 failing to be granted a licence, the 2026–27 season of the Gibraltar Football League is expected to be contested by 11 sides, who will play each other twice for a total of 20 games in the regular season. The top 6 will enter the GFL Championship Group, where each team will play each other once to decide the league champion. All matches are expected to be held at the Europa Point Stadium, which has an artificial surface.

Due to the rise in their UEFA coefficient, the top three in 2026/27 will now qualify for Europe as well as the Rock Cup winners.

The league in its current format has only been in existence since 2019, and Europe FC were top of the league when the 2019/20 season was cancelled due to Covid, but the title was not awarded. Lincoln Red Imps had won the subsequent six championships.

Football though, has been played on The Rock since 1905, and prior to the creation of the Gibraltar Football League, Lincoln Red Imps had won 24 Premier Division titles, including 14 consecutive successes between 2003 and 2016, ahead of Glacis United, who had won 17 titles.

Lincoln Red Imps

Lincoln Red Imps were formed in 1976, clearly inspired by Lincoln City in England, who also have The Imps as a nickname, and the Gibraltarian side initially adopted red and white stripes for their colours.

Lincoln have been the most successful side from The Rock in European competitions. They famously beat Celtic 1-0 in 2016 in what was Brendan Rodgers first match in charge of The Hoops, before losing on aggregate, and qualified for the 2021/22 Europa Conference League group stages thanks to victories over Fola Esch of Luxembourg and Latvians FC Riga, but they were defeated in all 6 group matches.

However, last season was their most successful campaign to date. Starting in the Champions League, Lincoln overcame Vikingur from the Faroe Islands 4-2 on aggregate, before being eliminated by Red Star Belgrade. Dropping down to the Europa League, Red Imps won a penalty shoot-out in Armenia against Noah after two draws, but Portuguese side Braga were far too strong in the next round. 

Lincoln were unbeaten in their three home Conference League group games, sensationally beating both Lech Poznan from Poland and Czech side Sigma Olomouc 2-1, and drawing 1-1 with Croatians Rijeka. Despite a 0-5 thrashing in Bosnia to Zrinjski Mostar, and 1-3 reverse to Maltese side Hamrun Spartans after taking the lead in the second half, Red Imps were still in with a chance of reaching the knockout rounds going into their final match against Legia Warsaw, but the Polish side exacted some kind of revenge for the Lech Poznan result as Lincoln went down to a 1-4 loss.

Lincoln Red Imps Squad

Star forward Tjay De Barr ( 59 caps ) and formerly of Wycombe Wanderers had recently left the club and signed for Serbian Superliga side OFK Beograd for what has been described as an historic undisclosed fee, although Transfermrkt shows the fee as being €70K.

Fellow striker Nicholas Pozo ( 25 caps ), who scored the winner against Sigma Olomouc, had also left the Red Imps during the summer break and signed for English National League side Boston United. Senegalese forward Boubacar Dabo is now playing for B36 in the Faroe Islands.

Dutch midfielder Nico Pinto had joined from Dutch second level side Top Oss, but all the other new signings were from fellow Gibraltarian sides, including right-back Ethan Jolley ( 44 caps ), Uruguay centre-back Gabriel Cardozo and Argentinian winger Facundo Alvarez from St Josephs, attacking midfielder Leon Mason ( 2 caps ) and Spanish forward Manu Toledano from Mons Calpe, and Dutch keeper Marc Hamm joined from Hound Dogs.

In addition to Jolley and Mason, the recent national squad for the friendlies against BVI and Cayman Islands contained one other Lincoln player, centre-back Bernardo Lopes ( 39 caps ). Players who had represented the national team in the past 12 months included keeper Jaylan Hawkins ( 8 caps ), who had played for Bruno Magpies in the game featured in these diaries in 2022, left-back Ethan Britto ( 46 caps ), midfielder Graeme Torrilla ( 39 caps ), whilst 44 year-old forward Lee Casciaro ( 67 caps ) had now retired from international duty.

Forward Kiko Gomez has dual citizenship with both The Philippines and Spain, winger Toni Kolega is Croatian and had played for HNK Sibernik and Gzira United in Malta and Dutch defender Julliani Eersteling had played for Go Ahead Eagles.

The Lincoln squad also contains a large number of Spanish nationals. Veteran defensive midfielder Joe had also featured in the Bruno Magpies game featured in these diaries, ex-Sporting Gijon, Elche, Real Madrid Castilla and A-League side Wellington Phoenix central midfielder Mandi, ex-Cesena, Foggia, Floriana and Hamrun Spartans centre-back Christian Rutjens, and midfielder Toni Garcia were all regulars in the Europa Conference side last season.

Forward Alex Mula numbered Malaga, Tenerife and Wisla Krakow amongst his former clubs and keeper Nauzet Santana had played in India for Chennai City. Veteran Nano had Cadiz, Oviedo, Panathinaikos and Almeria on his CV.

Football In Andorra

The Andorra national side were currently 172^nd in the FIFA rankings, having been as high as 125^th in 2005 and as low as 206^th in 2011. The nation has only won seven competitive fixtures. In World Cup qualifying they had beaten Macedonia in 2004 and Hungary in 2017, both by 1–0, and twice against San Marino in 2021 ( 2–0 at home and 3–0 away at away ).

Only one European Championship qualifying match has been won, at home against Moldova in 2019 by 1–0, and there have been two UEFA Nations League victories, both against Liechtenstein in 2022 ( 2–1 at home and 2–0 away ).

Friendly victories have been registered over Belarus, Albania, San Marino, Liechtenstein ( twice ), St. Kitts and Nevis, and Grenada. Since 2020, matches had been drawn against Latvia ( three times ), Malta ( twice ), Gibraltar, Moldova, Kosovo, Belarus, South Africa, Estonia and San Marino.

The Primera Divisio was formed in 1996 and currently consists of 10 clubs who play each other three times for a 27-game season. The winners qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the runners-up entering the UEFA Conference League. The third spot in Europe goes to the winner of the Copa Constitucio, or the third-placed side if the cup winner has already qualified.

Apart from FC Encamp, whose ground is owned by their local council, matches are played in six Stadiums owned by the Football Federation, and are allocated on a game-by-game basis by the Federation.

Home matches for the National team, and all European club games are now played at the newly built Nou Estadi a Encamp, which opened in 2025, has a capacity of 5,600 and a hybrid turf surface. It is also the home to FC Andorra, who play in the Spanish Segunda Division and are owned by ex-Barcelona and Spanish international Gerald Pique.

FC Santa Coloma have won the most league titles with 13, followed by current champions Inter Club d’Escaldes with 5 titles, all of which have been since 2020. Last season Inter finished three points ahead of UE Santa Coloma to clinch a second consecutive title.

The start of last season was due to start in mid-September but was delayed due to issues relating to the registration of foreign players, leaving nearly all clubs without the minimum amount of registered players to be able to enter a team. The competition eventually commenced in mid-October.

Inter Club d’Escaldes

Inter Club d’Escaldes were formed in 1995 in the Escaldes–Engordany parish in the south-east of Andorra. Although they were founding members of the Primera Divisio, they initially didn’t have much success and were relegated at the end of the end of the 2014/15 season.  Promotion was achieved two seasons later, after which Inter have enjoyed significant success. In addition to 5 league titles, the Copa Constitucio was won three times, and the Supercopa Andorrana four times.

Inter have played in European competitions every season since 2020/21 and four ties had been won. As previously mentioned, a 1-0 victory was achieved over HB Torshavn in the 2021/22 Champions League Preliminary Round, San Marino side La Florita were beaten 2-1 in the 2022/23 Preliminary Round, and after a 0-1 loss to Icelandic side Vikingur Reykjavik, Inter held Romanian side CFR Cluj to a 1-1 draw at home but exited the Conference League 1-4 on aggregate.

In the 2023/24 Europa Conference League, Inter eliminated the Faroese Vikingur 3-2 on aggregate, and then they sensationally beat Scottish side Hibernian 2-1 at home in the next round, but the Scots recovered to win the return 6-1.

The 2024/25 Conference League saw Inter eliminate Bosnian side Velez Mostar 6-2 on aggregate after an astonishing 5-1 home victory following a 1-1 away draw, but AEK Athens comfortably won both legs in the next round.

The 2025/26 campaign also produced some encouraging results. Drawn against Romanian champions FCSB, who won their home tie 3-1, a 2-1 victory for Inter in the return wasn’t enough for the Andorrans to progress. Dropping down to the Conference League, Inter lost 2-4 in Slovenia to Olimpija Ljubljana but managed a 1-1 draw in the return.

Inter Club d’Escaldes Squad

No Inter players were in the most recent Andorra National squad. However, left-back Dacu ( 14 caps ) played earlier in the year against San Marino. Left-back Marc Rodriguez was an Andorra Under 21 international and appears to be the only other Andorran in the Inter squad.

The non-Spanish members of their squad included Brazilian right-back Klebinho, who started his career at Flamengo before going on to play in Japan, Ecuador and Portugal, centre-back Jaouad Erraji was born in Morocco, and centre-back Anwar Hernadez was from Mexico.

Keeper Adria Munoz briefly played non-league football in England for Whitehawk and Lewes, midfielder Juan Camara was a Spanish Under 17 international and played for Barcelona B and Girona, before going on to play in Poland, Romanian and Azerbaijan, keeper Javi Diaz made two appearances for Sevilla and midfielder Antonio Otegui had played for Osasuna and Numancia.

Winger Maurizio Pochettino made one appearance for Watford and is the son of Mauricio Pochettino, the Argentinian defender ( 20 caps ) and the ex-Southampton, Chelsea, Tottenham and current USA manager. Winger Jose Garcia began his career with Osasuna, and Borja Arellano scored 17 goals in the Primera Divisio last season for Inter.

The Inter squad also included Torres, Modric, David Lopez, and Alonso, but unfortunately not the famous internationals ! Defender Jilmar Torres was from Colombia.

New signings include Mali winger Soule Sidibe and midfielder Lamine Diaby, who both joined from Atletico Lleida, and centre-forward Toni Parades, who had recently been playing in the fourth tier in Italy. Moroccan winger Domi Berlanga had signed from Atletic Club d’Escaldes.

Matchday Information

With the reconstruction work at the Victoria Stadium still continuing, this match was being played at the Europa Stadium, which hosted all of the Red Imps home matches in Europe last season. The ground has two large stands, a main one along a touchline and one behind a goal. A cricket field is on the opposite side to the main stand, and several apartments are behind a fence at the other end. There are views of the sea, ships in the harbour and the lighthouse, as well as the ambulance parked on the cricket outfield.

The weather at the 18.00 local time kick-off ( 17.00 UK ) was sunny and 27 degrees.

Tickets for match were priced at £5.

The match was live streamed but without any commentary on Bet365.com, who made Lincoln Red Imps 6/5 favourites with Inter at 9/5 and the draw 9/4

The Red Imps starting XI included just the one player from Gibraltar, although there were 5 on the bench. Eight Spaniards were starting, plus one player from The Netherlands and one from Argentina.

Inter did not have any local players in their starting team, although their two Andorrans were on the bench. They started with 7 Spaniards, plus two Moroccans, a Colombian and a Mexican.

The referee was Joao Goncalves from Portugal.

The Red Imps were playing and red and black shirts, with black shorts and red socks, whilst Inter were in all white with blue trimmings.

Match Report

The start of the match was uneventful as both sides settled in the game until there was a delay following an injury to Lincoln’s Toledano, who was fortunately able to continue.

The first shot on goal came in the 9^th minute but Alvarez’s wild left-footed effort was blazed high over the bar from 12 yards. It was a good chance. Inter then broke quickly but a snapshot from Chouaib from 20 yards went a few feet wide.

Shortly after, Toledano and Mandi combined to dispossess Alonso and as the Inter player stayed on the ground injured, the ball rolled to Mula, who shot first time high over the bar from edge of area when he had time to assess his options.

The game burst into life when Toledano tumbled inside the area after a tackle by Jaouad as he cut in from the left and the referee awarded a penalty. It looked a bit soft and the referee chose not to show a yellow card to the Moroccan. Nano stepped up to take the spot-kick and sent keeper Diaz the wrong way with his left footed strike, for the first goal of the European season. It was 1-0 after 16 minutes.

Inter looked to immediately hit-back but a right-wing cross from Pochettino bounced through to the Red Imps keeper. Torres took a long-throw for Inter which was headed away by the dread-locked Eersteling and Lincoln eventually cleared their lines.

Inter’s Chouaib ran clear of the Lincoln back-line but his attempt to lob keeper Santana was easily saved. However, the linesman’s flag was finally raised, and Chouaib was several yards offside.

A rehydration break was taken after 23 minutes, and when the match recommenced, an Inter player trod on the ball, allowing Mula to run to the edge of the Inter area, but his shot lacked power and was easily saved.

Nano then made a surging rundown the left wing and sent a low cross in to the Inter area. Toledano took a touch and then fired into the roof of the net from angle of 6- yard box. The score was now 2-0 with 26 minutes played.

The first yellow card of the game was shown in the 30^th minute, to someone on the Lincoln bench but it wasn’t clear to who or why, but was presumably for something said.

Inter’s Berlanga, who looked like he wasn’t wearing any shorts, had a go from 20 yards but the attempt sailed harmlessly high over the bar.

With 32 minutes played, Mula played a ball into the Inter area but Nano just wasn’t able to get a touch to it and keeper Diaz blocked and dived on the loose ball.

Inter then enjoyed a brief spell of pressure but Lincoln defended well and the visitors were unable to create any clear chances.

Modric played a pass into the Lincoln area to Arellano, who was able to turn, but his shot from a narrow angle went into the side netting. Lincoln were then awarded a free-kick 25 yards from the Inter goal after Modric was adjusted to have handled the ball, but Nano’s free-kick was drilled into the defensive wall.

Inter then produced their best move of the game to date as Arellano founded Chouaib, who laid off to Modric, but the left-footed effort from the edge of the area was well saved by Santana diving to his left.

With half-time approaching Lopez won a header close to the penalty spot from a corner, but his effort went straight to at the Inter keeper, who made the catch. At the other end, Berlanga sent a free-kick to beyond the far post but Jaouad could only head high and wide.

Four added minutes were signalled and Mula played a lob over Inter backline, but the ball bounced awkwardly for Alvarez, who was unable to get proper shot away.

Inter took play into the Red Imps half and when Pochettino delivered a low cross from the right-wing, Rutjens slid into to prevent Arellano having a tap in, but only succeeded in diverting the ball past the wrong-footed keeper. The score became 2-1 after 45+2 minutes.

There was still time for Alvarez to have a left footed shot from the angle of penalty area, but keeper Diaz was able to push into air and catch at the second attempt.

At half-time the statistics showed that Inter had 62% of the possession but Lincoln had been by far the more dangerous side and deserved to be ahead. However, Inter’s goal just before the interval would have given them some inspiration.

Indeed, Inter started the second period on the front foot but two moves were halted by offside flags, and Lincoln were having to give away a number of fouls. Seven minutes into the second half, Otegui was denied when his left foot curler from just outside the area hit the bar, and when the ball was reworked back into the Lincoln box, Chouaib air kicked in front of goal.

Two minutes later, a long ball by Lincoln saw Mandi run on to it and into the Inter area, but good defending by Jaouad shepherded the ball through to his keeper.

The first yellow card to a player on the pitch was shown in the 56^th minutes when Toledano accidently stepped on the foot of Jaouad, and second card for the Red Imps followed a couple of minutes later when Mandi brought down Torres.

It was now the home side’s turn to apply some pressure. First Lopez saw his volley from the edge of the Inter area blocked for a corner, then Alvarez showed good skill by the left-hand touchline to make space to feed Kiko, who found Nano, but the right foot shot 10 yards out hit the post. The rebound put over the bar by Alvarez but the offside flag had been raised.

Inter substitute Parades almost made an instant impact, running into the Lincoln area on the left, forcing Eersteling to concede a corner, from which Berlanga’s delivery was headed well over the bar by Hernandez.

Lincoln hit back and Pochettino needed to be alert to put the ball off for corner to prevent Kiko getting onto a pass. A scramble ensued at the corner, and when the ball fell to Alvarez he produced a splendid back-heel to send the ball into the corner of the net past the despairing dive of the keeper from the six-yard line for a goal on his debut. It was now 3-1 after 66 mins.

The second drinks break of the game was taken after 68 minutes, and which, Inter sent a long ball down the right-hand channel for Berlanga to run into the area and win a corner. Berlanga took the corner to beyond the back post for Jaouad to head goalwards only for the ball the strike the legs of the struggling keeper on the line and bounce away. When Inter recycled possession, David Lopez hammered a 20 yarder narrowly wide.

With 18 minutes remaining, Inter picked up their first yellow card when Hernandez blocked Kiko from running into area.

A minute later, Camara managed to pull-back from the byline, but Berlanga’s shot from 6 yards needed a brave block from Eersteling to prevent a certain goal. Inter’s appeals for handball were waved away by the Portuguese referee.

Lincoln substitute Jolley made a strong run out of defence and deep in to the Inter half and passed to Ruben Garcia, but Diaz dived onto the low cross just ahead of Kiko. Jolley then sent a long range shot at the Inter keeper.

The final 10 minutes were breathless, end-to-end football. First, Torres hit the far post with a fierce left footed drive from just inside the Lincoln area. Inter were laying siege to the Red Imps area, as a cross was punched away, and another bounced across the penalty area before Nano hoofed away.

Torres hit the woodwork for a second time in two minutes when a left footed in-swinging corner hit the bar with the keeper beaten, and Camara stabbed wide from beyond far post.

Three Inter corners were launched in to the mixer but Santana punched two of them away, and from the third, swift passing on the counter-attack put Garcia clear, who chipped the advancing keeper, but the ball hit the base of the post and rolled along the goal-line until Torres got there first to clear.

Mandi then slid a pass to Kiko but from a tight angle, Diaz saved the shot with his body to concede a corner.

Five added minutes were to be played, and Inter continued to press, but under pressure Parades could only cross on to the roof of the net, then after Berlanga was put behind the Lincoln back-line, good defending by Joe ended the danger.

When the final whistle blew it could have been 4-1 or 3-2 at the end. However, it is still all to play for in the second leg next week, and Inter will fancy their changes after having hit the bar three times and missing some other good chances.

Lincoln Red Imps : Santana – Eersteling ( Jolley ), Lopes, Rutjens, Joe – Alvarez ( R.Garcia ), T. Garcia ( Pinto ), Nano – Mandi, Toledano ( Kiko ), Mula ( Idrissi )

Inter Club d’Escaldes : Diaz – Pochettino ( Diarby ), Jaouad, Hernandez, Torres – Otegui ( Dacu ), Alonso, Modric ( David Lopez ) – Berlanga, Chouaib ( Camara ), Arellano ( Parades )

 

Nejmeh SC 1-0 Tadamon SC Sour ( att : 30 est ) – 2025/26 Lebanon Premier League

June 25, 2026

Although the 2026 World Cup Finals are currently being played, with up to 6 matches a day at the moment, football continues to be played around the globe, particularly in countries which failed to qualify for the finals in Canada, Mexico and the USA. Today was an opportunity to add Lebanon to the list of countries covered in these diaries.

Lebanon National Side

The national side are currently 115^th in the FIFA rankings, having been as high as 77^th in 2018. However, their cause has not been helped by the recent conflicts with Israel resulting in not being able to play a home match since a 1-0 home win over Jordan in a friendly in December 2023.

Lebanon have never qualified for the World Cup Finals but have reached the AFC Asian Cup finals on three occasions. The first time was in 2000 when they were the hosts but a 0-4 loss to Iran and draws with Iraq ( 2-2 ) and Thailand ( 1-1 ) saw them fail to get out of their group.

In the 2019 tournament held in the UAE, Lebanon actually won a game, a 4-1 victory over North Korea, but earlier defeats to Qatar ( 0-2 ) and Saudi Arabia ( 0-2 ) saw The Cedars exit the competition.

The 2023 tournament was held in Qatar, and Lebanon finished bottom of their group, having only managed to draw 0-0 with China but lost 0-3 to Qatar and 1-2 to Tajikistan.

In the qualifiers for the 2027 finals, Lebanon finished in second place behind Yemen despite a 4-1-1 record. Victories registered over Brunei ( 5-0 & 3-0 ) and Bhutan ( 2-0 & 4-0 ) were insufficient as after a 0-0 draw with Yemen, a 0-2 loss at “home” in a game played in Qatar saw Lebanon eliminated. Preparations for that crucial game had been hindered by the domestic league having been temporarily being suspended following the latest conflicts with Israel.

Lebanon failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals, after a 1-3-2 record which saw them finish third in their group, but they had to play two of their home games in Qatar and the other in Australia. As a result, the two games played in Australia were lost ( 0-2 and 0-5 ), games against Palestine on neutral territory were drawn ( 0-0 ) and ( 1-1 ), whilst matches against Bangladesh saw a 1-1 away draw before a 4-0 victory in the final game of the campaign.

Very few Lebanese footballers have played in England, although ex-Worthing, Forest Green Rovers, Bromley and Sutton United striker Omar Bugiel ( 25 caps ) was currently with AFC Wimbledon, and Aldershot forward Hady Ghandour had one cap.

Lebanon Premier League

The league has been played for since 1934 but has regularly been interrupted over the years due to political instability and conflict. The Champions qualify for the third tier AFC Challenge League whilst the bottom two sides are relegated to the Second Division. The winners of the Lebanon Cup also qualify for the AFC Challenge League.

The record title holders are Beirut side Al Ansar with 15 titles, followed by two more Beirut sides, Al-Ahed and Nejmeh SC with 9 titles each.

Al Ansar were the current champions and reached the quarter finals of this year’s AFC Challenge League before being eliminated by Kyrgyz side Muras United 0-3 in Bishkek.

In 2024/25, Nejmeh failed to get out of their group after a final game 2-3 defeat to Indian side East Bengal, after having beaten Bangladeshi side Bashundhara Kings 1-0 and Bhutan side Paro 2-1.

Lebanon’s best club performance in AFC competitions came in 2023/24 when Al-Ahed reached the final of the AFC Cup, but lost 0-1 to Australian side Central Coast Mariners.

2025/26 Season

The Lebanon Premier League should consist of 12 sides but is currently being played with 11 teams after Bortj withdrew due to financial difficulties after 11 games played in the current campaign. Eight of the sides play in Beirut, with Tadamon Sour, Riyadi Abbasiyah and Jwayya located in the south of the country.

The Eleven remaining teams will now play each other twice for a 20-game season, after which the league will split into two groups, comprising the top 4 and the bottom 4, where each team will play the other teams in their group twice. Teams will carry over half their point tally from the first phase into the second phase.

The season was suspended on March 18 due to the latest conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, but following a ceasefire the league resumed on June 12^th.

The Premier League has now reached round 20 with champions Al Answar holding a 7-point lead over Nejmeh with two games of the regular season to be played. Newly promoted Jwayya were a point behind Nejmeh, whilst Al Ahed were a further two points back. Fifth placed Safa would need to bridge a 2 point deficit to reach the Top 4 play-offs.

At the bottom, Racing Beirut had picked up only one point from their 19 matches played so far, and had only scored 4 goals.

Sides are allowed to nominate 4 foreign players in their match-day squads, plus an unlimited number of Palestinians, although 6 foreigners can be fielded in AFC competition matches.

Nejmeh Sport Club

Nejmeh Sport Club were founded in 1945, with the name translating as Star from Arabic. The club are primarily supported by members of the Sunni community, with a minority support from the Druze population, with the five-pointed star in their emblem being a Druze religious symbol. The club’s board are reported to be affiliated to the Future Movement Political Party, which are opposed to Hezbollah.

Home is the 5,000 capacity Rafic Hariri Stadium in the Manara suburb of Beirut, and is named after the leader of the Future Movement Party.

Nejmeh’s first choice colours are all red but their nickname is The Burgundy Castle. There is no connection between the club and the ex-Barcelona and Paris St-Germain forward currently playing a bit-part for Brazil in the World Cup…………

Nejmeh have reached the final of this season’s Lebanese Cup, where they will play fellow Beirut based side Sagesse.

Kenyan forward Juma Masud ( 27 caps ), who has played in South Africa, UAE, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Iran was their top scorer with 8 goals, followed by Ali Kassas ( 10 caps ) with 6 goals.

Nejmeh’s other foreign players include Colombian winger Juan Lucumi, who was previously with Peruvian side Ayacucho, Sierra Leone midfielder Rodney Michael ( 8 caps ), who had played in Montenegro and Cyprus, plus two more Kenyans, defender Teddy Akumu ( 55 caps ) who had experience in Sudan, Zambia, South Africa, Japan and Iran, and midfielder Austin Odihambo ( 17 caps ). Striker Alexander Succar had 3 caps for Peru.

Lebanon internationals in their squad included defender Hussein Zein ( 49 caps ), centre-back and captain Kassem El Zein ( 56 caps ), keeper Mostafa Matar ( 43 caps ), centre-back Khalil Khamis ( 21 caps ), winger Ali Al-Hajj ( 15 caps ), midfielder Ali El-Fadel ( 1 cap ), defender Mohamad Safwan ( 12 caps ), forward Mohamad Omar Sadek ( 5 caps ), and keeper Antoine Al Douaihy ( 1 cap ).

Swedish born midfielder Felix Michel Melki had ( 33 caps ) had previously played for AIK Stockholm and Norwegian side Sarpsborg 08.

Tunisian coach Lassad Dridi has been in the hot-seat just over one month.

Nejmeh won their previous match 5-0 at home against Al-Mabarra, with two goals from Lucumi, with Masud, Sadek and Melki also on target.

Tadamon SC Sour

Tademon Sport Club Sour are located in the ancient city of Tyre, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, having been a major city in the Phoenician empire and was the birth place of Dido, one of the founders of Carthage, not the singer of White Flag and Thank You !

The estimated 200,000 population of Tyre is predominately Shia Muslim, but with a sizeable Christian minority. It is also home to a significant number of Palestinian refugees plus diaspora from West African countries such as Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

The club were founded in 1946 and home is the 6,500 capacity Sour Municipal Stadium, which has a grass pitch.

Tadamon translates as solidarity and the side’s nickname is The Ambassadors Of The South. Their one honour was winning the Lebanese FA Cup in 2000/01.

Tadamon came into today’s game in 10^th place with a 3-8-7 record, behind Riyadi Abbasiyah on their head-to-head record.

Tadamon had one international in their ranks, forward Gildo Vilanculos had 30 caps for Mozambique and had played for several clubs in Portugal including Maritimo. Midfielders Mohamad Ghamloush and Hassan Fouani were current Lebanon Under 23 internationals.

The other overseas players in their squad were Malian centre-back Ichaka Diarra, Venezuelan right-back Karin Saab, centre-forward Bachir Toure was from Senegal, and striker Geraldo Selorm was from Ghana, although none of them were involved today. Winger Zaher Samahe was from Palestine.

 In their most recent outing, Tadamon beat back-markers Racing Beirut 1-0, with attacking midfielder Ali Ezzeddine scoring the only goal of the game in the 70^th minute.

When these two sides met in Tyre back in December, it finished as a 0-0 but only after Tadamon were reduced to 10 players after 20 minutes when Hadi Madi was shown a red card following a VAR review for a denial of a goal scoring opportunity, and Nejmeh missed a penalty in the last 10 minutes when midfielder Hassan Kourani put his spot-kick wide.

Matchday Information

MTV Lebanon broadcast three matches live per round on their YouTube channel, with the others being streamed on FIFA+/DAZN. This match was available from both sources with a commentary in Arabic.

The weather at the 15.30 local kick-off time ( 13.30 UK ) was sunny and 27 degrees, cooler than the temperatures in the South of England today !

Bet365.com made Nejmeh SC 1/6 favourites, with Tadamon Sour at 12/1 with the draw at 5/1.

Nejmeh were unchanged from the side that thrashed Al-Mabarra.

Nejmeh were in all red, whilst Tadamon in a change kit of mostly white shirts with green shoulders and other green blobs and green numbers, with white shorts and green socks.

The match was being played at the Fouad Chehab Stadium in the Jounieh suburb of Beirut, which is normally home to Sagesse, but has hosted several of the matches in Beirut since the season restarted. The ground had a running track around the artificial surface, Brechin style hedges on far side with a concrete wall behind, separating the ground from a busy main road and a residential area. Behind one of the goals were more bushes, with a large office block in the corner, whilst there was just a wall behind the other goal behind, which was slip-road rising like a ramp to join the busy main road.

The one main stand was where the cameras were situated so it was difficult to see how many spectators were in the ground, although a rare clip showed about 30 people sitting close together, but there could have been a few more dotted around in the rest of the stand out of view.

Match Report

Nejmeh started on the front foot and with just two minutes played Al Fadel tried his luck from 25 yards but the shot bounced through to Tadamon keeper Mohammad Bshara for an easy save. A minute later Masud’s shot was deflected for a corner, from which the ball struck Melki as he was falling and drifted harmlessly wide. Melki may have been illegally impeded but the referee didn’t see anything untoward.

At the other end Ezzeddine saw his shot blocked then loop up for easy catch for keeper Matar, who was then required to make a much harder save, tipping a vicious 20 yarder from Semahi over the bar.

The only goal of the game came a little out of the blue. Al Hajj sent a cross towards the near post where Kourani got ahead of the dozing Madi to volley past Bshara. VAR showed Al Hajj was onside when receiving the ball on the right wing so it was 1-0 after 9 minutes.

Tadamon were nearly back on level terms six minutes later as Karim Kassem ran clear onto a long ball, but his shot from just inside the area bobbled just wide of far post with the keeper an interested spectator.

Then in the 19^th minute, Semahi sent a cross bouncing across the Nejmeh goalmouth but Ali Horani’s shot on the run was wild and went back across goal, and 20 yards wide. It was a great chance but an abysmal finish !

Shortly after, both sides were forced to make early changes with Semahi having to leave the field for Tadamon, and Melki hobbled off for Nejmeh. A water break was taken on 29 minutes but there was no booing from the crowd.

Nejmeh won a corner in the 32^nd minute, which Lucumi played short and then sent a cross to beyond the far post, but substitute Akumu could only head high and wide. Minutes later, Lucumi’s ball across the Tadamon area reached Al Fadel, who was forced wide by Jawad Kwatharani, so could only shoot high and wide.

The first controversial moment of the game occurred in the 37^th minute when Kassem made a strong run down the left wing and into the Nejmeh area, and appeared to be dragged to the ground by Zein. However, the referee allowed play to continue and there was no intervention by VAR despite the pleas from the Tadamon players. The word stonewall came to mind……….

With half-time approaching, a nice dummy by Al Fadel allowed Al Hajj to run into space on left, but his low cross was put out for a corner.

Five added minutes were signalled and Lucumi’s snap-shot went well wide.

The second moment controversy came moments later. The didn’t seem to be any danger as Akumu played a back pass to keeper Matar inside his area. The keeper then wandered out of his penalty box with the ball, but when put under pressure by Kassem the keeper retreated back into in his area and  picked up the ball. It should clearly have been an indirect free-kick to Tadamon for picking up a back pass, but again the referee ignored the appeals from the visitors.

Nejmeh held onto their one goal lead at the break, but Tadamon could have felt a little hard done by with two decisions not having gone their way, and despite their lowly position in the league table they hadn’t come to park the bus, and looked lively on the counter-attack. Furthermore, the keeper was wasting no time in restarting play rather than time wasting.

The third and final talking point came 4 minutes into the second period. Al Fadel’s dangerous cross from the left was cleared by Ali Fahes. When Nejmeh reworked possession, left-back Hassan Jaafar went down very easily when challenged by Ezzaddine and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. It looked shoulder to shoulder, and VAR eventually instructed the referee look at the pitch-side monitor, and the referee reversed his decision !

The first yellow card of the game was shown in the 54^th minute, when Kawtharani brought down Al Fadel as the Nejmeh man looked to run into area. The free-kick was neatly put in to net at near post by Masud, but Al Zein was standing right in front of the Tadamon keeper in an off-side position, so the goal was chalked off.

After this, the game mostly fizzled out, and although Tadamon showed a lot of endeavour, the Nejmeh keeper was rarely troubled, and Nejmeh seemed content to rest on their one goal advantage.

Al Fadel sent a long range shot well over, and Masud volleyed over from close to the penalty spot after a right-wing cross from substitute Kassas. Masud’s diving header then produced a good save from Bshara, who dived to his left to push the ball around the post for a corner.

The visitors’ best response was for Horani to chip over the Nejmeh right-back for Ezzeddine to run into the left-hand channel, but good defending by Zein averted the danger at the expense of a corner, which came to nothing.

Masud continued to shoot on sight but a shot on the turn sailed a yard or two over the bar, and in the 71^st minute Kassas sent a bouncing shot a few feet wide.

The second drinks break took place after 74 minutes, just before which it looked like Al Fadel was shown a yellow card for taking too long to leave the pitch after being substituted.

Nejmeh did get the ball into the back of the net for a second time, but Kourani was yards offside when he lashed a long ball into the roof of the net, and his effort was correctly ruled out. That was to be his last contribution as he was immediately substituted afterwards.

With the clock ticking down Fahes was robbed of possession in his own half by Masud, but the attempted pass across the face of the goal was well intercepted by Shadi Skaff, who sounds like some much needed neck-wear in hot conditions !

The final stages were more notable for yellow cards rather than action. Michael was punished for a bad foul on Fahes, and after the game moved into 6 added minutes, Akumu saw yellow for bringing down Kassem just outside the Nejmeh area. Tadamon had a chance to rescue a point but from a central position just inside the D, Horani shot into the defensive wall, and Skaff sent the rebound high, wide and handsome with his left foot.

Jaafar made a good run down the left wing for Nejmeh but then shot into the side netting, and the game finished with Fahes being shown a yellow card for persistent complaining to the referee after a foul had been awarded against him when he might had the chance to run clear.

At the final whistle, Nejmeh deservedly took the three points as they controlled most of the second half. Tadamon looked a neat and tidy side, but you could see why they had scored only 11 goals all season.

Nejmeh SC : Matar – Zein, Al Zein, Melki ( Akumu ), Jaafar – Michael, Kourani ( Sadek ), Al Fadel ( Daher ) - Al Hajj ( Siblini ), Masud, Lucumi ( Kassas )

Tadamon Sour : Bshara – Kawtharani, H Madi, Skaff, Fouani ( Kaawar )– Horani, Ghamloush ( Mansour ), Fares – Kassem, Ezzeddine ( A Madi ), Semahi ( Aabed )

 

 

 

2026 World Cup Preview – Mexico vs South Africa

June 11, 2026

After the stories of grossly inflated match ticket and transportation prices, water bottles being banned from being taken into stadiums, fans from many of the participating countries being prevented from either purchasing tickets or obtaining visas for the USA, Iran’s entire ticket allocation being cancelled, Iraq striker Aymen Hussain being detained for 7 hours of questioning on arrival at Chicago and the team’s official photographer being denied entry, Iran having to move their base from Arizona to Tijuana in Mexico and prevented from staying overnight in the USA after their games in Los Angeles and Seattle, Africa’s best referee, Omar Artan from Somalia, being refused entry in Miami, Senegal’s players being searched on the tarmac after getting off their aircraft in North Carolina, Uzbekistan’s players and equipment extensively being searched as they entered the stadium in New York for a friendly against The Netherlands ( although the Dutch were not subjected to the same treatment ), and hotel reservations reportedly being significantly down against projections as many supporters decide that attending in person is just not worth the hassle, we are finally close to seeing some football, in what has been described in some quarters as the most controversial sporting event since the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

With the World Cup being hosted across three countries for the first time ever, the honour of the first match was granted to Mexico, with the final being held in New Jersey, USA.

Mexico had previously hosted the 1970 and 1986 finals, so the 93,000 capacity Estadio Azteca will become the first stadium to have held the first match of the finals on three separate occasions.

This would be the second time Mexico and South Africa had met in the opening game of the finals, playing a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg in 2010. In the only other competitive meeting between the two sides, South Africa were victorious in the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, winning 2-1 in Carson, California. However, Mexico had won friendlies in 1993 and 2000, by margins of 4-0 and 4-2 respectively.

 

Mexico

As hosts, Mexico were not required to qualify for these finals. Historically, Mexico have been the big fish in the CONCACAF region, and were making their 18^th appearance in the World Cup Finals, a record only beaten by Brazil, Germany ( including those of West Germany ) and Argentina. They have only failed to qualify in 1934, 1938, 1974, and were disqualified in 1990 for playing over-age players in a FIFA youth tournament.

Despite their frequent presence, Mexico had only twice reached the quarter-finals, both when they were hosts, but had reached the Round of 16 knock-outs on 7 successive occasions until failing to get out of their group in 2022, when a 95^th minute consolation goal for Saudi Arabia eliminated Mexico on goal difference.

Mexico came into the tournament 15^th in FIFA’s rankings and were unbeaten in all 8 friendlies played in 2026, winning six and drawing with Portugal and Belgium, both matches played in the USA. The final warm-up game was a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Serbia in a game played in Toluca.

Mexico Coach

Former international, 67-year-old Javier Aguirre ( 59 caps ) is in his third spell as coach, and has been in the hot seat since July 2024. As a player, Aguirre was part of the 1986 World Cup squad but was shown a red card in the quarter-final against West Germany, which the Germans went on to win on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

Aguirre’s club career was mostly spent in Mexico, playing for America and Guadalajara, but there were short spells with the Los Angeles Aztecs and Spanish side Osasuna. Aguirre’s parents were from the Basque region, hence his nickname of The Basque.

With his ancestry, Aguirre was to obtain a Spanish passport and coached Osasuna, Atletico Madrid, Real Zaragoza, Espanyol, Leganes and Real Mallorca. He also coached the national teams of Japan and Egypt.

Mexico Squad

Fulham forward Raul Jimenez ( 124 caps and 45 goals ) is the player that would be most recognisable to followers in the UK. Jimenez has previously played for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Benfica and Atletico Madrid.

Centre-back Edson Alvarez ( 98 caps ) is a West Ham United player, but ended the season on loan at Fenerbache. Before joining West Ham, Alvarez had played for Ajax.

Keeper Guillermo Ochoa was third on the all-time list with 152 appearances for his country and this would be the 6^th World Cup finals for the 40-year-old. He is now playing in Cyprus for AEL Limassol and numbered Ajaccio, Standard Liege, Malaga, Granada and Salernitana amongst his European clubs, and America back home. Left-back Jesus Gallardo has 121 caps but had played all of his career in Mexico, and was currently at Toluca.

Five of the Mexico squad were born outside of the country. Guadalajara midfielder Brian Gutierrez ( 7 caps ) was born in the USA and made two appearances in friendlies in 2025 for The Stars And Stripes before switching allegiances, having played over 150 times for Chicago Fire.

AC Milan forward Santiago Gimenez ( 47 caps ) was born in Argentina, but moved at an early age to Mexico. Likewise, his father Christian Gimenez, was also born in Argentina but played for Mexico, becoming a naturalised citizen after playing for four Mexican clubs.

Atletico Madrid midfielder Obed Vargas ( 6 caps ) was born in Anchorage, USA and started with Seattle Sounders. He has a Mexican father and a Spanish mother. Forward Julian Quinones ( 22 caps ) was born in Colombia, and represented their Under 20 side, but until signing for Saudi side Al-Qadsiah had played all of his senior career in Mexico.

Betis midfielder Alvaro Fidalgo ( 4 caps ) was born in Spain and had played for their Under 17 side. He gained Mexican citizenship after spending 5 years in the country playing for America.

Midfielder Erik Lira ( 25 caps ) featured in these diaries’ only report on Mexican football, playing for Cruz Azul in 2023 in their 1-0 win over Atlas in a match played in the Azteca. AEK midfielder Orbelin Pineda ( 92 caps ) had also appeared in these diaries, in both of AEK’s Champions League matches against Antwerp in 2023, and in a Europa League Preview prior to AEK’s game at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Three Mexican players were included in the BBC’s 20 young players to watch at the World Cup feature. 17-year-old Gilberto Mora ( 8 caps ) of Tijuana is the youngest player at the tournament, and was a sensation at last year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, starting in the final against the USA, where Mexico were 2-1 winners. Striker Armando Gonzalez ( 7 caps ) scored 25 goals in Liga MX for Guadalajara last season and was tipped by the BBC as a likely super-sub and to help take the burden off Jimenez. The other player to watch was Brian Gutierrez !

 

South Africa

South Africa are currently 60^th in FIFA rankings and have a nickname of Bafana, Bafana, which roughly translates as Boys, Boys.

This is the fourth occasion that South Africa have qualified for the World Cup finals, but they had never previously got out of the group stages.

In 1998, they lost to host nation France 0-3 and draws with Denmark ( 1-1 ) and Saudi Arabia ( 2-2 ) saw them finished 3^rd in their group. Four years later in South Korea, they started with a 2-2 draw with Paraguay before recording their first ever win in the finals, overcoming Slovenia 1-0. However, a 2-3 loss to Spain saw South Africa eliminated on goals scored, having one fewer than Paraguay.

South Africa’s were hosts for the 2010 finals, and became the first ever host nation to fail to get out of their group. They opened with a 1-1 draw with Mexico but then slumped to a 0-3 defeat at the hands of Uruguay. A 2-1 upset victory over France, who had a miserable tournament, wasn’t enough to take South Africa to the knock-out rounds, as they finished below Mexico on goal difference.

Following the end of the Apartheid era, South Africa were one of the strongest nations in Africa, winning the 1996 African Cup Of Nations which they hosted, beating Tunisia 2-0 in the final, and were runners-up in 1998 and were third in 2002. Since those glories days though, they failed to qualify on four occasions and their best results were reaching the quarter finals three times until they came third in 2023, beating DR Congo on penalties after a 0—0 draw after having lost the semi-final on penalties following a 1-1 draw with Nigeria. In 2025 they were eliminated in the Round of 16, losing 1-2 to Cameroon.

South Africa Qualifying Campaign

South Africa topped their qualifying group by finishing one point ahead of Nigeria but they made things difficult for the themselves by fielding an ineligible player in a game against Lesotho which they won 2-0, but the result was over-turned into a 0-3 defeat. Midfielder Teboho Mokoena should have been serving a one match suspension but instead played 82 minutes of the match.

South Africa started with a 2-1 home win over Benin but then fell to a disappointing 0-2 defeat in Rwanda. An important 1-1 draw was achieved in Nigeria, then Zimbabwe were beaten 3-1 in Polokwane.

The Lesotho fiasco followed next, but South Africa recovered with a 2-0 win in the return with Benin, which was played in the Ivory Coast, and then a 3-0 victory over Lesotho with the match being played in Bloemfontein due to Lesotho not having a suitable stadium to host World Cup matches.

A 1-1 draw at home to Nigeria took South Africa to the brink of qualification but a 0-0 away draw with Zimbabwe, played in Durban, left South Africa needing to beat Rwanda in the final game, which was accomplished with a 3-0 victory.

Since the 2025 AFCON finals South Africa’s form had been lukewarm, and they were yet to win a match in 2026. Two home friendlies against Panama had resulted in a 1-1 draw then a 1-2 defeat, and the home farewell against Nicaragua, ranked 131^st by FIFA, was a lucklustre 0-0 draw. Their final warm-up fixture was a 1-1 draw against Jamaica in a game played in Toluca.

South Africa Coach

Belgian Hugo Broos has been coach since 2021. As a player, defender Broos represented Belgium on 24 occasions, and was part of the squad that finished fourth in the 1986 World Cup finals. Broos was in the Belgium line-up that lost 1-2 in a group game to a Mexico side including Aguirre, so they will face each other again 40 years later ! In total Broos made over 500 league appearances for Anderlecht and Club Brugge.

His coaching career took Broos to Greece, Turkey and Algeria, in additional to a spell as the coach of Cameroon. He has also coached 6 sides in Belgium, including Club Brugge, Anderlecht and Genk.

South Africa Squad

All of the South African players were born in their country but only seven of them currently play their club football outside of their country.

Burnley striker Lyle Foster ( 26 caps ) would be the most familiar to those in the UK, winger Thapelo Maseko ( 9 caps ) plays for AEL Limassol, and midfielder Yaya Sithole ( 27 caps ), whose name needs to be pronounced very carefully, plays in Portugal for Tondela.

Defender Imo Okon ( 7 caps ) is with Hannover 96, uncapped defender Olwethu Makhanya plays for Philadelphia Union, centre-back Mbekezeli Mbokazi ( 10 caps ) also plays in the USA, for Chicago Fire, whilst Samukele Kabini ( 5 caps ) is with Norwegian side Molde.

2025/26 champions Orlando Pirates from Soweto, and runners-up Mamelodi Swallows based in Pretoria, had the highest representation in the squad with 8 players each.

Captain and keeper Ronwen Williams ( 62 caps ) was with Mamelodi Swallows, as were veteran midfielder Themba Zwane ( 53 caps ) and left-back Aubrey Modiba ( 44 caps ).

Kaizer Chiefs left-back Bradley Cross ( 1 cap ) was the sole "white" player in the South African Squad. 

Matchday Information

With Mexico playing at home the match was predicted to be an 83,000 sell-out, with the referee being Brazilian Wilton Sampaio.

Bet365 made Mexico 21/50 favourites, with South Africa at 7/1 and the draw 7/2.

The weather at the 13.00 local time kick-off ( 20.00 UK ) was forecast to be 22 degrees with a good chance of rain.

Mexico were scheduled to play in their traditional green shirts with white shorts whilst South Africa were due to be playing in their yellow shirts and green shorts.

The game will be proceeded by an opening ceremony, in which Shakira will be performing, and Fatbear will not be bothering to watch.