The answer came with a huge victory with a score of 93-74, led by Youssef Khayyat by scoring 21 points, while Omar Gamal El-Din added 16 points and 10 rebounds. The victory did not mean that Lebanon had found a ready replacement for Araqji, but it showed that a younger generation had begun to bear responsibility, and re-raised the issue of transferring Araqji and Ali Haidar’s generation to a team whose future was not linked to two players.
For Khayyat, the development does not seem surprising. The 23-year-old player got a major role with Al-Hikma, and participated in a high rate of minutes in the Lebanese League and the West Asian Championship. In “Wasl”, he scored 14.7 points and grabbed 8.2 rebounds in the match, which confirms that his presence against Korea was not a passing start, but rather the result of an increased responsibility with his club.
As for Jamal al-Din, his situation is different. His experience in the Japanese League gave him exposure at a strong level, but he played about 15 minutes per match, which is not always enough time to develop a player who is expected to play a major role with the national team. His move to Central may give him more space, but the most important thing is that the Korea match turns into a consistent level, not an exceptional memory.
The main problem is that Khayyat and Jamal Al-Din do not occupy Arakji’s position. Both of them can score and move without the ball and help the team physically, but Lebanon also needs a player to lead the attack and make decisions under pressure.
Here the name of Ali Mansour appears, who recorded an average of 5.6 assists with Al Riyadi in the West Asian Championship. Mansour has experience and the ability to organize the game, but he in turn needs greater and consistent responsibility if he is to become the leader of the attack in the next stage.
Araqji is still thirty-one and capable of giving, but Ali Haidar has reached thirty-six, and therefore Lebanon cannot postpone the transfer process for long. Therefore, today, experienced people should not be excluded at all, but rather the complete reliance on them should be reduced, and young men should be given real minutes and clear roles in big matches.
The victory over Korea proved that the new generation exists. As for the existence of an actual plan to hand over leadership, it will not appear in one match, but rather when the minutes of Khayyat, Jamal El-Din and others become greater, then it can be said that Lebanon has secured a new golden generation for years to come.
Lebanon is preparing to play against China, at 14:30 on Monday afternoon, after the great victory over Korea, with the continued absence of Wael Arakji, Ali Mansour and Jihad Al-Khatib due to injury, as the national team coach, Ahmed Farran, had confirmed that the players would not participate in this window within the qualifiers.
