were eliminated from the World Cup, they qualified to the 2019 Asian Cup qualification third round, played between March 2017 and March 2018. The Asian Cup draw put Lebanon in Group B, with North Korea, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. With five wins and a draw, Lebanon topped the group and qualified for the cup for the first time (after qualifying as host in 2000, the country's only previous participation). Hassan Maatouk (who succeeded Roda Antar as captain in 2016) was key to Lebanon's success, scoring five goals in six games. Although Radulović failed to qualify the team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he helped Lebanon reach their first-ever AFC Asian Cup through qualification in 2019; he was the first Montenegrin manager to help a team qualify for a major tournament. Radulović managed a 16-game unbeaten streak (from 24 March 2016 to 11 October 2018), winning eight and drawing eight, making Lebanon the second-most unbeaten national team by number of games at that point (16) after Spain (26). In September 2018, Lebanon achieved their best-ever FIFA ranking (77th). Lebanon relied on their diaspora abroad for the 2019 Asian Cup, with nine of their 23 called-up players being born outside of Lebanon. They started the campaign on 9 January 2019, with a 2–0 loss against Qatar. In the 37th minute, Ali Hamam scored a goal for Lebanon from a corner, only for it to be controversially disallowed for a foul. Two goals by Qatar in the second half secured all three points for the opposing team. Three days later, Lebanon played their second match of the tournament against Saudi Arabia. Two goals without reply brought Lebanon their second defeat of the tournament. In the final group stage game against North Korea, played on 17 January, Lebanon needed to win by four goals to pass to the knock-out stages. The encounter ended in a 4–1 win, thanks to a brace by Hilal El-Helwe, which gave Lebanon their first ever Asian Cup win. However, they lost out to Vietnam in the third-place ranking on the fair play rule. Because they had received seven yellow cards against five by Vietnam, they were knocked out of the competition. Liviu Ciobotariu was appointed for the joint qualifications for the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup. His first games took place at the 2019 WAFF Championship, where Lebanon were drawn with hosts Iraq, Syria, Palestine,