Syria emphatically sealed a place in the final of the five-nation Nehru Cup football tournament after beating arch-rivals Lebanon by a solitary goal at the Ambedkar stadium in Delhi on Thursday.
The all-important goal was scored by Mohammad Al Zeno in the 23rd minute.
The victory maintained Syria's unbeaten run in the tournament and swelled their tally to nine points from three matches.
Lebanon, who have just four points after beating India and subsequently losing to Sri Lanka and drawing with Kyrgyzstan, are out of the reckoning. It leaves India (6 points) the task of just forcing a draw with Syria in their concluding match to take the other spot in the final.
The last time Syria and Lebanon met was in January at the Lebanese port city of Sidon for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. The match, played before an empty stadium because of security reasons, ended up in a 2-0 victory for Syria.
The two are scheduled to face each other again in a Syrian city for the return leg of the Asian Cup qualifiers next year.
