Bitter Lebanon coach slams Socceroos young gun with Middle Eastern heritage for pledging his loyalty to Australia ahead of World Cup qualifier

Likely Socceroos debutant Patrick Yazbek’s decision to pledge his international allegiance to Australia rather than Lebanon has been slammed by Cedars coach Miodrag Radulovic.

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold said former Sydney FC midfielder Yazbek was a ‘more than 90 per cent’ chance to make his national team debut against Lebanon in Tuesday night’s FIFA World Cup qualifier in Canberra.

Australia are chasing back-to-back wins over the Cedars are beating them 2-0 in Sydney last week.

‘He’s Australian first and foremost,’ Arnold said bluntly of the Sydney-born, Norway-based Yazbek, whose heritage is Lebanese.

‘Him mum and dad are from Lebanon, and he’s got that in him as well….he’s a fantastic kid.

Socceroos boss Graham Arnold pointed out Yazbek was ‘Australian first and foremost’

Radulovic (pictured) said the young Aussie’s decision to go with the Socceroos means he’ll be wasted on the bench instead of being a leader for Lebanon

‘(To) make his debut against Lebanon, it’s a great thing for him and his family that they’ll never forget.’

However, Radulovic said 21-year-old Yazbek would have been better off playing for his squad.

‘I think it would be better to be one of the leaders in our team [rather] than sitting on the bench [for Australia], but this is his decision,’ the Montenegro-born mentor said.

‘I’m not interested anymore.’

Former Central Coast Mariners Academy player Jackson Khoury is part of Lebanon’s squad

The Lebanese squad does include one player born in Australia – former Central Coast Mariners Academy attacker Jackson Khoury.

‘He has big potential. He is the future of the Lebanese team,’ Radulovic said of the 21-year-old Khoury.

Radulovic was ‘optimistic’ about Lebanon’s chances in Canberra, saying his side’s performance in last Thursday’s loss to the Socceroos in Sydney was ‘much better’ than the 2-0 scoreline indicated.

‘We will try to correct the mistakes that we did, and to be much more effective in attack. I expect a good performance and a much better result,’ he said.

Radulovic said he was using the games against the Socceroos to prepare for June’s crucial World Cup qualifiers against Palestine and Bangladesh.

‘We need to win those games in June, that’s our target,’ Radulovic said.

It comes as Arnold is set to play a very different starting XI in Canberra on Tuesday night as the national team take the next step in their attempt to qualify for the World Cup

The Socceroos – whose starting side could have up to five changes from last week – will guarantee themselves a berth in the next round of qualifiers with a win in Canberra.

However, Arnold is desperate to win not only on Tuesday night but in June, also against Palestine and Bangladesh, to ensure the Socceroos have a perfect AFC second-round qualifying record, which should result in them being one of the three nations in pot one for the third-round qualifying draw.

‘What’s important is we win these three games,’ Arnold said. ‘My focus is the players and getting the job done for the nation.

‘It’s important that we go out there with the focus and the mentality, and most of all the energy in front of a full house to put on a great performance.’